


In Lieu of a Tail

by AnjaWritesFanfiction



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Dragonese (How to Train Your Dragon), F/M, Found Family, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless Friendship, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Needs a Hug, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Dragons, Hiccup Is A Dork, Hiccup is a mess, Hiccup returns, Hiccup runs away, Infrequent Updates, Older Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Slow Burn, im sorry in advance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 52,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24880405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnjaWritesFanfiction/pseuds/AnjaWritesFanfiction
Summary: Hiccup runs away from Berk with Toothless (after the fight with the Nadder in the ring). Astrid never stopped him and the romantic flight never happened.Many years later, Hiccup has built a new life for himself where his talents are appreciated and he is well-respected. He has many allies and friends, but also many enemies. He hopes to never return to Berk, but unforeseen circumstances force his hand: and he must face his past, in order to have a future.Hiccup must find a way to protect everything he has worked so hard for, and he must decide whether save the people who once called him a "fishbone".AN: This is my first fanfiction, I'd love your feedback- but please don't be too harsh.Cross-posted on Wattpad under the same name.DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own How To Train Your Dragon- I am not Cressida Cowell or Dreamworks. I only own the plot line in this story and any OCs I introduce.Started 14/02/2019Infrequent updates.WARNING: Some "strong" language, mainly p***ed and f***ed.
Relationships: Astrid & Fishlegs & Hiccup & Ruffnut & Snotlout & Tuffnut, Camicazi & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Dagur the Deranged & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Gobber the Belch & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Everyone, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Fishlegs Ingerman, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Heather, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Original Character(s), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Ruffnut Thorston, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Snotlout Jorgenson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Stoick the Vast, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Tuffnut Thorston, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 106
Kudos: 197





	1. That Moment When You Accidentally Win Dragon Training

**[The semifinals of dragon training in the arena]**

"Stay out of my way! I'm winning this thing." Astrid said in a low and menacing voice, as she gripped her axe tightly. Her piercing blue glare sliced through Hiccup like a warm knife through yak butter. Her golden-blonde braid swung behind her as she turned to face the locked door of the dragon pen.

"Good. Please, by all means," Hiccup muttered under his breath, trying to figure out how to lose without letting the poor dragon get hurt.

Shouts of encouragement could be heard from the villagers (directed at Astrid of course).

The dragon was released, a Gronckle.

"This time! This time, for sure!" Astrid whispered to herself, trying to reassure herself before leaping out from behind the barricade with a viking war cry.

However, Hiccup had already subdued the creature, then Astrid got angry.

"NO! NO! SON OF HALF-TROLL, RAT-EATING MUNGE BUCKET!" She yelled. Stoick, who had been sitting outside the arena; watching, began conversing with the elders.

"So, later." Hiccup said, trying to escape.

"Not so fast!" Gobber said, grabbing the back of Hiccup's tunic.

"I'm kinda late for—", Hiccup began, before Astrid cut him off.

"What?! Late for what, exactly?!" Astrid shouted, gesturing wildly and terrifyingly with her axe.

"Okay, quiet down. The Elder has decided." Stoick boomed.

Gobber raised his hand above Astrid's head- suggesting her, Elder Gothi narrowed her eyes and shook her head, frowning. When Gobber repeated the action for Hiccup, Gothi smiled and nodded, everyone was surprised, though some pretended not to be (they weren't very convincing).

"You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!" Gobber praised, astonished and filled with joy.

"Ha, ha! That's my boy!" Stoick boomed, giving a hearty, happy laugh.

People began cheering, and somewhat liking the boy. Fishlegs and Snotlout even went as far as lifting the auburn-haired boy up on their shoulders in celebration

"Heh. Oh, yeah(!) Yes(!) I can't wait." Hiccup said sarcastically, not that anyone noticed.

**********

"I'm so ...LEAVING! We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever." Hiccup said to Toothless. He had finally escaped everyone and made it to the cove to see his dragon.

He'd seen Astrid on the way to the cove and almost been hit by her axe as she was training, even with the basket of fish over his shoulder, he'd been able to lose her in the forest he knew like the back of his hand.

He groaned, just realising now that he would need to go back to Berk to get everything he would need to survive. He began formulating a plan. He decided that he would go to his house first and pack the stuff he would need from there and then go to the forge. Hopefully everyone would be too busy celebrating (by which I mean getting drunk) the fact that he wasn't a disaster anymore to question where he was. He told Toothless he would be back around midnight, and that they would be leaving this place soon, the dragon nodded and went back to his meal, knowing he'd need the energy.

When Hiccup got back to his house, he wrote two letters: one for his father; Stoick, and one for his mentor; Gobber. He left them in his room on his desk, he knew his father would find them.

**[Time-skip to when Hiccup has finished and is back in the cove]**

"Looks like we're about ready to go bud." Hiccup whispered, as he attached the last of his possessions to Toothless' saddle, "Y'know, I'm gonna miss this place."

Toothless crooned at his rider, a sympathetic look in his green eyes.

"I mean the cove bud, not Berk. Well, maybe Gobber, but I can't kill that Nightmare, it would mean betraying you, I won't do it. Say goodbye to Berk, Toothless, with any luck we'll never see it again."

They took off, circled once, and didn't look back.


	2. Something's Up

**[The next morning, Berk]**

"Hiccup!" Stoick called as he climbed the stairs. He opened the door and was shocked to see that his son wasn't there, "Hiccup? Where are you? Stop messing around!".

There was no answer, this was strange, Hiccup had an answer for everything.

'Perhaps he's in the forge', Stoick thought to himself, completely missing the letters on the desk addressed to him and Gobber.

Stoick headed to the forge, looking around for his son as he did, he arrived to the sound of Gobber singing and hammering at a sword, "I've got my axe, and I've got my mace, and I love my wife with the ugly face! I'm a viking through and through—"

"Gobber!" The Chief yelled, cutting off his oldest friend.

"Stoick! What can I do for you?" Asked Gobber, abandoning his work to speak with the Chief.

"Have you seen Hiccup? He isn't in his room." Stoick replied.

"No, I haven't seen the lad this morning." Gobber replied, before noticing the worry growing on Stoick's face, "Don't worry Chief, he's probably in the forest again- training, I'd wager- he's been doing that a lot recently, y'know."

Stoick sighed, "I know, Gobber, I just worry about him. He has a horrible habit of getting himself into trouble and–"

"Stoick, don't worry. He's killing the Monstrous Nightmare this afternoon- he can fend for himself. He'll be fine."

"But what if he runs into trouble he can't handle?! Or–"

"Stoick!" Gobber yelled, startling Stoick into silence, "He will be fine, he has brains enough to avoid anything dangerous. Besides, he's known that forest like the back of his hand for years."

"I just want to make sure he isn't late to the fight in the ring- I want to watch him kill his first dragon, watch my boy become a real Viking–"

"Chief, don't worry. He won't miss killing his first dragon, not after how hard he's worked for it." Gobber reassured him, before turning back to his work.

"Maybe you're right." Stoick muttered, beginning to walk back towards the village, pushing thoughts of his son to the back of his mind- he had a village to serve.

**********

Her axe buried itself in the tree with a THUNK! She wrenched it from the trunk and aimed at another, imagining the skinny tree as a skinny person, with familiar green eyes and auburn locks.

"Aaaagggghhh!" She yelled, hurling the axe with all her might. The image of the Chief's son disappeared as the axe once again dug into wood.

"I hate him." She spat, as she gasped for breath. Her hair stuck out every which way as she began to stretch out. She looked at the sky and realised it was almost noon. Readjusting her braid and kransen, she walked towards the mutilated tree and pulled her axe out of the destroyed wood.

She started back towards the village- she may hate Hiccup right now, but she had to admit that she was pretty impressed with his improvement in dragon training, even if it was a bit fishy. She didn't want to miss the fishbone's fight, especially since if he chickened out, she would get to kill the dragon- as the first runner-up. It was bad enough that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third (or Hiccup the Useless) had beaten Fearless Astrid Hofferson, and there was no way in Helheim that Astrid was going to risk an accusation of being a sore loser to sully her honour as well.

**********

Hiccup was nowhere to be seen in the Great Hall come noontime, but nobody was worried. They knew he had developed a habit of disappearing almost all day in the forest.

Stoick was nervous, not about his son being nowhere to be found, he was worried about the fast-approaching fight his son would be a part of, he prayed to Thor and Freja and any God who may have been listening that Hiccup would be safe.

Astrid was irritated, she had finally decided not to hold Hiccup's victory against him and now the boy was nowhere to be found! Why is it that when I don't want to see him he is constantly underfoot, but when I'm actually looking for him he disappears!

In all fairness to Hiccup, he has been on the receiving end of Astrid's anger many times, and he would definitely agree that while Astrid is Fearless, he most definitely was not. Anyone could understand him avoiding her with everything he had.

She consoled herself with the realisation that, if he was avoiding her- it at least meant that she was a terrifying warrior.

**********

About an hour after noon, the fight was due to begin- and Hiccup was missing.

They waited an hour for him, and he still didn't show. Stoick became agitated and ordered the village to form search parties for his son, the village obeyed- many of them had begun to like Hiccup. Astrid commandeered the teens she and Hiccup had been training with, and the village began their search. Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut headed towards where Astrid had seen Hiccup last- when she had tried to follow him.

A couple hours later, most of the village had given up and returned home. Stoick and Gobber were still searching- and so were the teens. Tuffnut managed to trip and fall, taking Snotlout with him- down the almost-path into the cove.

"Tuffnut! I'm gonna kill you!" Snotlout screeched, picking himself up and throwing himself at Tuffnut, starting what promised to be a devastating brawl.

"Hey!" Ruffnut yelled, "If anyone is gonna kill my brother, it's gonna be me!" She joined in the brawl with an evil smirk on her face.

"Yeah! Wait, wha—" Tuffnut screamed.

"Enough!" Astrid ordered, screwing up her face in anger, "All of you shut up and look for clues! Hiccup is still missing and you can kill each other when we find him!"

"Uh, I think I know where he went," Tuffnut said.

"And where might that be?!" Astrid muttered, annoyed.

"A dragon carried him off, duh." His sister replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What makes you say that?" Snotlout snapped.

Fishlegs gasped, finally breaking his silence.

"Care to share, Fishface?" Snotlout called.

"Dragon tracks, and scales! I've never seen any like this before, I wonder if it's a new species, that would be amazing I—"

"Fishlegs!" Astrid shouted, stopping him from getting too excited, "Lay it out in simple words."

"I, I think Ruffnut and Tuffnut are right." He replied, lowering his head in dismay.

"Fine, we have to tell the Chief. Snotlout, grab those scales. Fishlegs, sketch those tracks, we need to be able to identify them. Ruffnut, Tuffnut- see if you can find anything else of Hiccup's. Let's get to it!" She commanded, her face an emotionless mask. She started towards the lake, silently admiring the sheer beauty of this place while looking for any clues about the kind of dragon it could have been.

She stopped at the water's edge, scanning for anything. A glint caught her eyes and she reached down into the water. She picked up a beautifully crafted dagger. It had magnificently elaborate carvings on the handle and a silvery blade that was still perfectly sharp, despite being in the water. There was an inscription on the hilt: 'HHHIII'. Hiccup's dagger. She ran her finger along the flat of the blade, thinking. It was obviously Hiccup's handiwork, no one else would have made a dagger with such precision. It hit her like a rock from a catapult, he was gone. She would never see that lopsided grin as he worked on a crazy project in the forge again; never hear his witty, sarcastic comebacks to anything his father said. Oh gods, did she love this boy? She missed him, but she hated him! Oh gods, she did love him, and she would never tell him.

She wanted to cry, but she wouldn't, not while other people were around, perhaps later, when she was alone.

Right now she had to report back to her Chief, she could mourn later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Be sure to comment and let me know!


	3. Beginnings And Endings

The world is a big place, but when you are flying high above it on dragon-back, it seems incredibly small- even when it stretches on. Hiccup had a sense of relief as he flew further and further from Berk. No, not relief, he felt free. He felt like he could fly forever, and he felt as though they had been flying forever (in truth it was probably only a day).

Strangely, he wasn't afraid of being alone and without his tribe- he was used to loneliness, after all- no, his fear was of being found. He was terrified about what might happen if anyone found out that he rode a Night Fury, what might happen to Toothless if their secret was revealed. He knew the dragon couldn't fly without him, and flying was everything to Toothless- it was his nature, how he survived. Guilt rose anew in Hiccup's heart, the sudden realisation that he had taken something so vital from such a majestic creature hitting him like a lightning bolt from Thor Himself.

"I'm so sorry Toothless," he whimpered, "I've ruined everything for you."

Toothless crooned, as though questioning his friend.

"It's all my fault. I shot you down that night, I shot the bolas. I destroyed your tail fin," he whispered, barely audible above the howling wind, "I took your ability to fly. You should hate me." Hiccup fell silent, lost in his thoughts.

Toothless growled, he had heard every word- Night Furies happen to have excellent hearing- he also hated every word. _Not true, not true! Hiccup freed me from the bolas and the Queen. He gave me my flight back. He fed me when I couldn't hunt. I don't hate him, I never will, he is my friend._ Toothless desperately wished Hiccup could understand him, he made a mental note to find a better way to communicate in future, right now he had needed rest, especially considering he was carrying a Viking who was likely to fall asleep soon.

Toothless heard Hiccup yawn, confirming his thoughts. The dragon utilised his excellent eyesight and began looking for an island where they could spend the night. He spotted a rather rocky and small one, it would have to do, Hiccup needed to be awake in order for them to fly.

**********

He began his descent, trusting that Hiccup would catch on, and he did. They landed softly, and Hiccup dismounted, taking several steps away from Toothless and collapsing onto his knees, almost crying.

"I'm so sorry Toothless, I've ruined your life. I wish I could go back and stop myself. I really do, I—" Hiccup was silenced when Toothless wrapped his wings around his trembling form, hugging him close to his midnight scales as the boy whispered apologies in every form. Toothless crooned gently, and Hiccup looked into the Night Fury's luminous eyes.

"You must hate me." Toothless shook his head. "How?! I would hate me." Toothless again shook his head. "I'm sorry bud, I—" Toothless cut him off by licking his face, bored of the depressing conversation.

"Really bud?" Hiccup asked in exasperation, but he began to smile. "That's disgusting, and I have a terrible feeling it probably doesn't wash out, huh?"

Toothless looked away innocently, and Hiccup laughed, a small laugh, but a real one- filled with joy.

"I'm guessing we're going to stay here tonight?" Toothless nodded. "Okay then, we should eat something."

They ate a dinner of fish- raw for Toothless and cooked with dragon fire for Hiccup- before settling down to go to sleep. Toothless heated the ground with a burst of flame and, seeing Hiccup uncomfortably laying against a nearby rock, grabbed the boy's leg in his gums and dragged him into the safety of his wings. The boy struggled a little, startled by his leg being in a dragon's mouth, before realising what Toothless was doing and snuggling closer to the Night Fury's warm scales, muttering a thank-you in a sleepy voice.

Toothless encircled the teen with his wings as a mother dragon would her young- his wings a barrier against the elements for Hiccup, his friend and (he decided) adopted hatchling.

**********

Berk was silent, everyone was mourning the loss of the newly-dubbed 'Hiccup the Promising'.

Some took it harder than others, for example the Chief and the Blacksmith. One mourned a son, the other the closest thing they had to one.

The teenagers who had trained with the boy all mourned him for different reasons.

The twins realised that they would not be able to talk to him about pranks and mischief anymore. He would not be able to help with loopholes in laws so that they got in less trouble anymore.

Snotlout regretted treating his cousin so horribly, especially since the boy had never done anything to him. Hiccup had always found ways to help him, even when he didn't realise it.

Fishlegs mourned a friend who had always let him spout trivia about dragons, even when he was busy. He mourned the boy who listened and understood having a love for knowledge.

Astrid suffered most of all. She regretted ignoring the boy for so long, when she was too focused on becoming the strongest Viking she could. She wished that she could tell him how she felt.

**********

The Berkians met at the shore with bows and arrows, where a small boat waited in the shallows. A fire pit dug into the ground was alight and the tongues of flame danced within. The boat was nudged out into the sea by the Chief. Nobody heard him whisper a final goodbye to his son and heir, no one saw the tear that dropped into the small boat.

Stoick waded back to shore and accepted the bow and arrow that his brother, Spitelout, offered. He lit the arrow and shot it at the boat, it hit exactly where a small body would have laid- had it been found. Taking their cue, the other archers (the teens, Gobber, Gothi and Spitelout) fired their flaming arrows. The proper funeral rites could be heard, but no one was really listening. Everyone was watching the boat burn, sending prayers of safe travels to Valhalla for the boy, prayers that he would meet his mother at the gates and that she would take his hand and lead him through those gates, and that he would watch over them all.

**********

The boat continued on its journey over the ocean, the flames died soon after it disappeared from Berk's view. Upon it lay a small toy, shaped like a Deadly Nadder. The toy was unharmed from the fire, and storms did nothing to it. The boat became battered, and years later, the toy floated only on a single piece of wood that was scorched and battered and destroyed. It drifted onto an island where many dragons roamed, and was discovered by a particularly curious Terrible Terror. This dragon picked it up in its talons, then flew up and into a great cavern of ice. He bowed before the King and presented his treasure. The King roared and a dragon with two sets of wings flew down. A slender, armoured figure dismounted and both they and the Stormcutter bowed. The King indicated the Terror before him, and the figure spoke with a feminine and motherly tone.

_"Sharpshot, what have you found?"_

Sharpshot trilled, flew up- the toy still firmly clenched in his claws- and dropped it before her. She reached down, picked it up, and gasped.

"Hiccup..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it, be sure to comment and let me know what you think!


	4. Things Are Coming Together And Falling Apart

Hiccup awoke to darkness. He found it very strange and reached up to the pitch black. His fingertips brushed the leathery material and it retracted from his touch, revealing daylight.

  
The boy was nudged from behind and he turned to see a pair of acid-green eyes staring at him.

  
"Hey Toothless, did you sleep well?" The dragon crooned in reply, "Good."

  
Hiccup sat up from where he had been laying, running a hand through his hair in a gesture that would someday become his signature tell of 'Oh Gods what am I going to do'.

  
"Oh Toothless," He mused, "What the Hel am I going to do now?" The dragon considered the question and, finding no answer, nuzzled the boy in a reassuring gesture. Hiccup looked up and met the Night Fury's eyes, who responded with his trademark 'toothless' grin, before waving one of his wings and doing what could only be described as a chuffing laugh. Hiccup rolled his eyes and sniggered.

  
"What? You think we should wing it?" He joined his dragon in laughter.

***********

The door closed in a sound that seemed foreign to the silent house, it was too loud. Stoick's steps were heavy, just like his heart, they echoed throughout the empty house and broke the silence once again. He collapsed in his wooden chair at the table, unprepared to do anything and fully aware he would not sleep easy. 

He removed his helmet and hugged it to his chest, praying to Freja and Thor and anyone listening that this was just a bad dream. But he knew it wasn't, because dreamers always wake up, they wake up and find that everything is as it should be. They wake up and check on their little boy who is safe and sound in his bed, then their wife comes and tells them to get back to bed, that little Hiccup is fine, and that neither she nor Hiccup are going anywhere.   
But he never wakes up, he remains in the nightmare he long ago accepted as reality, but it is worse that before, because he couldn't protect the last piece of his dear Valka he had left- the son that he swore to keep safe. The son he promised wouldn't meet the same fate as his wife.

He finally lets the tears fall, the tears he locked away while people were around. Vikings don't cry, at least not when people could see them.

The door creaked open, and he looked up, for a moment thinking that it was his son, that Hiccup was alive, and that he would have some silly excuse for not being around all day. But it wasn't.

  
It was Gobber, who said nothing as he closed the door behind him and walked over to Stoick, embracing him and also beginning to cry. 

  
The two hard-as-iron Vikings sobbed over their loss, and neither one thought the other was any less of a Viking for it. They cried in the dark together until late in the night, and before they departed they had a silent agreement that they would avenge the boy who they both cared about so much- no matter the cost.

**********

Astrid refused to cry- if she cried it was real, it was very late when she finally fell into a very restless sleep. The next day she went straight to the forest, axe in hand, to train- the only distraction she could think of.

  
Ruffnut and Tuffnut wandered her way unexpectedly, and Tuffnut was almost beheaded by Astrid's axe. Ruffnut turned to yell at her before she noticed the young warrior's eyes, red and watery. She knocked her brother out with a fist and went over to the exhausted girl, embracing her in the way a sister might hug her younger sibling who has fallen over, Astrid collapsed into Ruffnut's arms, crying all the tears she just couldn't hold back.

  
"I love him, and I'll never tell him! I miss him so much, Ruff, and I was so cruel to him!" She whimpered into Ruffnut's shoulder.

  
"I know, I know," Ruffnut whispered, "I won't say everything is going to be okay, because it's not. But I will promise that we will all help you avenge him." Ruffnut knew now wasn't the time to tell her that Hiccup loved her too, and that he always had, she knew it would only make Astrid feel worse, so she stayed silent. They knelt together in that small clearing, surrounded by battered trees with an unconscious and drooling Tuffnut nearby for a long time, until Astrid's tears ceased, replaced by a determination that would guide her to become a warrior who would be more than a match for any dragon. When Fishlegs told her it must have been a Night Fury, she vowed to destroy every one that she found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the wonderful comment Danborjal75! And thank you to everyone who left kudos! I really appreciate the support!  
> I hope you liked this chapter and I'll post the next one probably tomorrow!  
> Thanks everyone!  
> ~ AnjaWritesFanfiction


	5. Well-Laid Plans, Who Needs 'Em?

After fully waking up, Hiccup had breakfast with his dragon. They decided they couldn't stay on this tiny island for much longer, and hunted for some extra food before Hiccup re-packed his gear and they prepared to take off. When they had lurched into the air, Hiccup started muttering to himself.

"Gotta find a decent-sized island, that is preferably uninhabited by other Vikings, and where we can both live safely, and..." His mutterings reached the sensitive ears of his Night Fury companion, who growled in irritation. Why was his hatchling over complicating this? Their goal was simple: find a medium-sized safe island to live on, nothing could be easier! He grumbled again, humans were strange, he really needed to find a better way to communicate with his hatchling.

Toothless spotted an island that looked fairly promising, and- sensing no other humans or feral dragons- crooned at his rider to halt his pointless mutterings.

"What's up, bud? Do you think that island will work?" An agreeable grunt was his answer. He adjusted his foot pedal in tandem to his dragon's tail-fin to glide down to the ground.

They touched down in the centre of the island- a large clearing surrounded by lithe trees bursting with leaves of every shade of green. The dragon-human team scouted the island for anything hostile or dangerous- they found no indication of danger, however they did find hints that wild dragons were around. Luckily, the wild dragons didn't seem as rabid as the ones that used to raid Berk, and were content to leave them alone.

"This is it Bud, our new home!"  
  


**_[Time skip because why not?]_ **  
  


Within a week the pair had found the perfect place to build their home, it was actually the large clearing that they first landed in. It was perfect because with it being in the middle of the island- it could only be seen from above, thus only by dragons and their riders. During this week they had started building their home, from the ground up. It would probably take a month or so to complete it, but when it was done it would be large enough for dragons to live in as well as humans, and would have a forge attached. Both Hiccup and Toothless were excited for it to be completed (though Toothless was probably more excited by the fact that when it was done he wouldn't have to do any more heavy lifting).  
  


**_[Time skip to the whole house being finished]_ **  
  


It had taken two months- and no small amount of effort from both parties- but Hiccup and Toothless' home was finally finished. During those two months, Hiccup had managed to increase his strength, stamina and endurance- building a house with only a dragon to help was very hard work- and had begun to learn what he called dragonese (the language of the dragons). He was by no means fluent, but he could hold a simple conversation, and was learning very fast.

 _"What should we do today, Toothless?"_ Hiccup asked in dragonese.

 _"I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count."_ Toothless replied with a gummy smirk on his face.

_"Flying?"_

_"Obviously, Hiccup."_

"Oh Toothless, never change." Hiccup laughed, shaking his head gently and smiling.

 _"Your dragonese is improving."_ Toothless noted.

_"Thanks bud, I hope I can perfect it soon, I want to be able to understand all the wild dragons around here perfectly."_

_"You'll be fluent soon enough, you happen to be a very fast learner. Besides, whether you can speak and understand dragonese or not, all the dragons love you because you don't try and kill them."_ At Hiccup's raised eyebrows he rolled his eyes, _"And you have a natural affinity with them, blah, blah, blah. Can we go flying now?!"_ The dragon said in the most impatient growl possible.

 _"Yeah, yeah. We can go flying now, but then you're teaching me more dragonese!"_ Hiccup replied.

_"Yeah, sure. Can we go already?!"_

_"Okay, okay, I'm coming!"_

The boy mounted the dragon and they leapt into the sky, climbing up high to play in the clouds, free falling and gliding and spinning. They performed dizzying and ridiculously dangerous stunts- that somehow never ended badly- like the lucky fools they were.  
  


**_[Time skip to several months later]_ **  
  


Hiccup was truly an excellent student, this was proved every time he mastered something new, this time it was dragonese, and he found that it was second nature to him now. Toothless said it was because he had such a good teacher- the dragon himself, obviously- but even he couldn't deny that Hiccup was an excellent and dutiful student. This was proved further when Toothless began helping the boy improve fighting and self-defence strategies, and he improved by leaps and bounds within days- he was by no means the perfect warrior, but it was a start.  
  


After beginning his training with Toothless, Hiccup decided he needed some armour and weapons, and so began designing a couple ideas. His ideas consisted of an iron he had recently discovered- it was incredibly light and strong at the same time, he called it Gronckle Iron- with thin leather on top, and a mask that resembled a dragon's face.

He also created a lightweight shield with a Night Fury design on top and a sword that had a retractable blade- he got the idea from Toothless' teeth- and could ignite because of the Monstrous Nightmare gel on the blade.

Toothless was impressed by his hatchling's ingenuity, and surprised he could actually pull it off. He was relieved that, if it became necessary, Hiccup could fend for himself and that although the boy had a very skinny and small stature, he could use it to his advantage in a fight- having incredible agility and impressive speed (for a human of course).  
  


Hiccup was always taming dragons around the island, and Toothless knew each and every one of them would give their lives for the boy. All of the dragons considered this place a nest, and the teenager was treated as a nest-mate, he was one of them. Hiccup loved every second, and was always ready to help a brother or sister of wings and talons.  
  


One day, Hiccup and Toothless went flying closer to Berk than usual, and found themselves caught in a flock of dragons that grew by the second.

 _"Get down!"_ Toothless growled lowly, he had forgotten all about the Queen in his time with Hiccup on their island.

They flew silently to the nest, a dormant volcano in the middle of the Barbaric Archipelago, and entered like a shadow, unseen and- Toothless prayed- undetected. Hiccup watched in silence as food was dropped into the foggy depths, smartly holding back his sarcastic 'It's satisfying to know all our food has been dumped down a hole' until he didn't feel like he was probably going to die. A Gronckle flew over the hole, hovered there, and regurgitated a single, small fish into the darkness. It scratched behind its ear with its right hind leg, and then a deep rumble sounded from the depths. A mouth appeared with startling speed, jaws open wide that swallowed the Gronckle with a single gulp.

"We have to get out of here, bud." Hiccup whispered as quietly as possible. Toothless nodded and backed away from the ledge, before taking off and flying as fast as possible through the tunnels and away from the Queen. Hiccup looked back once to see the cavern in chaos and a Zippleback snapped up before the monster's jaws retreated from view once again.

When they returned to their island, Hiccup and Toothless were both rattled. Only one thought was present in Hiccup's mind, and he said it in such fluent, furious dragonese that Toothless's eyes widened in surprise.

_"That monster must be destroyed."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and the kudos! Hope you liked it!


	6. Before The Storm

Hiccup hadn't said a single word since his outburst, and that was an hour ago, it's fair to say that Toothless was worried.

His hatchling was far too quiet to be okay, and was simply staring at the sea, eyes unfocused and lost in his thoughts. The dragon was nervous, he couldn't look after the boy in his own head, and he wasn't sure whether to snap him out of it or not. Fortunately, his choice was made for him when a grass-colored Terrible Terror with scarlet spines flew straight into Hiccup's face.

 _"Ow! What the Hel?!"_ He cried.

 _"Dragons, trapped,"_ the small dragon shrieked, clearly out of breath as they dissolved into indecipherable growls and trills.

 _"Whoa, whoa! Slow down! Breathe! Can you tell me what happened, slowly?"_ Toothless roared.

_"I was a prisoner of the two-legs, they used me to train their offspring in how to murder my brethren. I escaped when my brothers and sisters attacked, but I heard the two-legs talking about the upcoming murder of Brother-Nightmare. He is trapped just as I was and cannot escape because he is too big! I flew non-stop for a day to find you, Brother-Fury! You must save him and my other fellow prisoners! Please!"_

_"Of course, brother. Hiccup, we need to go!"_

The Terror looked again at the boy he had landed on, just now realising he had landed on a human. The Terror shrieked in horror and fear and anger.

_"A two-legs! Do we flee or fight?!"_

_"No! We remain, this two-legs is different, Brother-Terror. He is one of us now!"_

_"Please don't be afraid! I won't hurt you I promise!"_ Hiccup assured the dragon.

_"He speaks our tongue! How?!"_

_"Toothless taught me—"_ Hiccup started.

_"Who is this 'Toothless'? You mean another two-legs knows our speak?!"_

_"I am Toothless, Brother-Terror."_

_"No you aren't! You have teeth!"_

_"My name is Toothless."_

_"But you clearly have teeth! I—"_  
 _"That is besides the point,"_ Hiccup interrupted, _"You say there are trapped dragons?"_ The Terror regarded him carefully, before deciding that there was too much at stake to worry about a tiny two-legs.

 _"Yes, I need Brother-Fury's help to free them, so I followed his scent, but I didn't smell a two-legs..."_ the Terror trailed off, sniffing Hiccup as he stayed very still, _"I can barely smell you, even now- was this your doing Brother-Fury?"_

 _"Yes,"_ Toothless answered without hesitation, _"He is my hatchling and my brother-in-arms."_

 _"He smells familiar,"_ the Terror muttered, then he spoke louder, _"We must save my fellow captives, brothers. As soon as possible, I fear for their lives."_

 _"We will set out straight away. I shall carry you, Brother-Terror, you must guide us and rest your wings,"_ Toothless said, before turning to Hiccup, _"Gather everything you need, we must leave soon."_

**_[About 10 minutes later]_ **

They were ready, and launched into the air as soon as Hiccup was securely in the saddle. The Terrible Terror was nervous about riding with a Viking, but relaxed soon after they set off, as Hiccup had applied some herbs to his wings that eased their aching. The Terror became slowly more and more sure that he had met this boy before, or knew him from somewhere.  
The trio followed the Terror's directions until they reached a familiar island. Hiccup and Toothless cursed quietly, but the Terror was too focused on the sky- to notice- it was sunset.

_"This is the island?"_

_"Yes."_ Another curse from Hiccup and Toothless.

 _"We should wait for the raid, brothers."_ Toothless said, _"The chaos will make our goal easier, and the darkness will cloak us."_

 _"Agreed, it should start in about an hour. Until then, we should rest and plan."_ Hiccup said.   
The Terror knew that it was the logical solution, but prayed that they wouldn't be too late to save their brethren, he also hoped that the boy would tell them when this 'hour' was up, as such silly made-up time measurements meant nothing to dragons.

The hour passed slowly for Hiccup, he had formulated a workable plan in mere minutes and told the other two, but now he was working on the other plan, the one he had been thinking about when the Terror smashed into his face. He knew it would require a lot of firepower, and hoped the other dragons would help.

He had a sudden thought and, turning to the Terror, called out in dragonese.

_"Hey, um, you! I have a question!"_

_"Yes, Brother-Two-Legs?"_

_"Um, I'm Hiccup, but okay. Do you have a name?"_

_"What is a 'name'?"_

_"Like how Toothless is called Toothless? And I'm called Hiccup?"_

_"I am Brother-Terror to all I know. What difference does a 'name' make?"_

_"It sets you apart from others, I guess? Surely if every Terror is Brother- or Sister-Terror it gets confusing?"_

_"That is true."_

_"Would you like one?"_

_"One what?"_

_"A name?"_

_"You have power to give 'names'?"_

_"I guess anyone can, I know that a name helped me and Toothless bond, maybe it could work in a similar way?"_

_"Hmm, yes. I like the idea of this 'name'. You may give me one."_

_"Okay, um, can I think about it? I don't want to give you a name you don't like."_

_"Very well, inform me when you have found a 'name' befitting of a dragon of my stature."_ Hiccup had to bite back a snigger at that.

_"Okay then, I will."_

Then they waited for the chaos to come, Hiccup trying to think of a good name for the Terrible Terror while they watched Berk from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #ishouldbestudying #imnot  
> What did you think? Be sure to let me know!


	7. A Raiding Rescue

The letters were found two days after Hiccup's departure. Stoick had been standing in the doorway of his son's room and staring at the space. It seemed so empty without Hiccup. All the boy's sketches had been tidied away, which- had the circumstances been different- Stoick would have been very glad about (and had been when the boy had been cleaning it up), as his son's room was usually in a permanent state of messy chaos. But now it was simply wrong.

He had walked into the room and the small bed had groaned in protest as the large man sat down. He had looked up, hoping that the boy's desk was messy- so he could pretend his son was still there- and had been startled that it was very neat, with two envelopes standing up against the pencil pot- one addressed to him, and one to Gobber.

He rose slowly, and reached out carefully- as though he believed going too fast would make the letters disappear. He opened his to find his son's looping, somewhat messy, perfect writing. It said:

_Dear Dad,_

_I know I owe you an explanation for a lot, so let me start with this- I have run away. I'm sorry, it isn't the Viking way, but I believe I have no choice._  
_I've never been very good at the Viking way anyway._

_I know that the village only put up with me because I'm your son. I know they want me to be something I'm not, and I can't take keeping up this image anymore. I'm not a dragon-killing warrior, I'm sorry._

_I know I was never a good Viking, too much of "this", but I like to think that I have helped the village in some ways. No, I'm not very fearsome, or a great warrior, but I promise you that I tried as hard as I could._

_Perhaps I am a coward for leaving, but I know I won't regret it. I'm going to figure out who I am. I hope we cross paths again one day, I'm sorry that I was never the best son. I hope that my leaving reduces the number of disasters that happen there, and that one less mouth will make it easier to feed the village during winter._

_Maybe you have already disowned me for leaving, or don't want my opinion, but I think that Astrid or Snotlout would make a better heir than me. Once again, I'm sorry that I wasn't the perfect Viking. At least you won't have to worry about me causing trouble anymore._

_With love,_

_Hiccup_

Unshed tears glistened in Stoick's eyes, he sat for a moment, before releasing a sob. The tears made tracks down his face, and he let them fall for a long time. The realisation that his son had run away because he thought he was a disappointment made Stoick's heart break. His son had lost his life because of it, and Stoick could never apologise.

After what seemed like an eternity, Stoick got up and carefully put the letter back in its envelope, he put it in his room on the nightstand and splashed his face with water- no one would know their Chief had been crying. He retrieved the letter for Gobber from Hiccup's room and headed towards the forge to deliver it, his heart as heavy as his steps. When Gobber received the letter and read it, he closed the forge for the rest of the day. Gobber plodded into his apprentice's back room and sat on a three-legged, wooden stool. With only a candle for company, the man re-read the letter again, eyes swimming with tears as he glanced around the room at all of the crazy, wonderful, detailed designs his apprentice had created and no one had let him make. Gobber dried his tears and carefully put the letter away, determination burning in his eyes. He grabbed a piece of clean parchment and scribbled a few hasty words down, before grabbing a dagger from a box and using it to secure the paper to the wall.

"I won't forget you, lad," Gobber muttered, "And I'll keep yer father safe."

The Blacksmith left the back room carefully, trying to preserve every reminder of his young apprentice that he could.

As the candlelight faded, you could just make out the words on the parchment: _Fortiden er fortiden, men lær_ _af de_ _n._  
  


**********  
  


The chaos began an hour after dusk.

The world descended into fire and blood and anguish within seconds. It was only after this barrage of flame that the horns were sounded, and by this point one sarcastic individual would probably have said something along the lines of:

 _"No, really, a dragon raid(?) Never would have guessed from the flaming reptiles or the screaming."_ Hiccup drawled in dragonese, rolling his eyes. It seemed that no matter the situation, he always had a sarcastic remark at the ready.

 _"Let's go, let's go!"_ The Terror- still yet to be named- screeched impatiently.

 _"Okay, okay! Let's go, bud!"_ Hiccup replied.

They flew quickly and silently. The Terror, despite his protests, was riding with Hiccup. Hiccup had decided it would be faster this way and also help them avoid being spotted- the Terror had conceded to that point, eventually, but deep down knew the boy was right, especially considering his wings were still strained.

They were nothing more than a shadow in the darkness, and flew fast as an arrow towards the training ring. When they arrived they landed on top of the metal cage and carefully manoeuvred through the gaps as quietly and quickly as they could. Reaching the ground, they blasted the doors to free the captives. The prisoners exited their enclosures quickly and cautiously. Upon spotting the Terrible Terror, the Gronckle lurched forward in joy, before stopping at the sight of a Night Fury.

 _"Brother-Terror! You have returned for us! Who is this?"_ The Nadder squawked, as the Gronckle was speechless.

_"This is Brother-Toothless and Brother-Hiccup, they have come to help rescue you!"_

_"The Night Fury has teeth you fool! And a hiccup has no physical form!"_ The Nightmare growled.

_"They are names, Brother-Nightmare, and –"_

_"We can discuss this later!"_ Toothless roared, _"Time is of the essence, suffice it to say that I am Toothless and my hatchling is Hiccup. We must leave before the raid ends!"_

The other dragons were confused and surprised, but none had any desire to pick a fight with the offspring of lightning and death itself, so they followed Toothless, blasting the door to the arena wide open, and flying away as fast as possible.  
  


It took the other dragons longer than they would admit to realise that there was a human in their midst. In fact, it wasn't until they landed on Hiccup and Toothless' island, when Hiccup dismounted. Let's just say that they weren't best pleased, they were horrified.

 _"A two-legs!"_ The Zippleback screeched in disdain.

 _"He is my hatchling, Zippleback,"_ Toothless growled, narrowing his eyes.

 _"Hi, I'm Hiccup. Um, please don't kill me?"_ Hiccup said, despite being pretty sure Toothless would rip them to shreds if they so much as glanced at him wrong, to say nothing of all the other dragons he had befriended.

 _"The two-legs speaks our tongue! How can this be?"_ The Gronckle questioned.

 _"I taught him our speak,"_ Toothless said, in a tone that implied he was incredibly proud of himself, _"Is there a problem?"_

 _"Why?"_ The Zippleback, curious as ever, questioned. So Toothless and Hiccup told them their story, all the way up to that moment.

 _"You are going to kill the Queen?"_ Asked the Nadder.

 _"I don't want to, but it's really the only option. She is a monster and must be stopped."_ Hiccup replied, frowning slightly _"I don't know how I'm going to do it though."_

 _"You can start by realising that you're not doing this alone."_ Toothless growled.

 _"Yeah! If you're gonna kill the Queen, I'm helping."_ Screeched the Terror.

 _"I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to help."_ The Nadder chirped.

 _"You don't speak for me —"_ The Nightmare was cut off by the Nadder's glare, _"Fine."_

_"Really? You'll all help me?"_

_"Duh,"_ Trilled the Terror _, "Just one thing first?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"Did you think of a name for me yet?"_

Hiccup laughed. Trust a Terror to fixate on anything.

_"Yes, actually, I have."_

_"Well?"_ The Terror asked excitedly.

_"What about Fyredart?"_

_"Hmm, I don't know, will it strike fear into the hearts of my enemies? That is very important."_ Replied the Terror.

 _"Well, it does give the idea that you are very fast, or that you have a powerful fire blast."_ Toothless commented.

 _"Yes, henceforth- I will be known as Fyredart!"_ The newly-dubbed Fyredart screeched excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for my beta! She is awesome.  
> Let me know what you think!


	8. Five Years Of Freedom Later

Hiccup stretched and yawned as he awoke, kicking off his bed cover and stepping onto the wooden floor, his prosthetic leg squeaking in protest when he put his weight on it. He winced, he knew he would never get used to it, even though he had lost it almost 5 years ago, it was still a strange sensation. He also knew that his sacrifice was nothing, compared to the lives he must have saved by killing the Red Death.

He joked with Toothless that he "just had to get even", but not too much, he knew the dragon felt as guilty about Hiccup losing a leg as he did about Toothless losing a tail fin.

He spotted the Night Fury asleep on his rock, and crept downstairs quietly, not wanting to disturb the dragon. He began to quietly put together a breakfast for himself, making a mental note to visit his friends of the tribe on Caldera Cay- the Defenders of the Wing- to get some more fruit preserves as he was down to his last jar. He heard a thump from upstairs and called for his dragon.

_"I'm down here bud! Making breakfast!"_

The dragon grunted in response, still half asleep- there's a reason they're called Night Furies, they are not morning dragons. A crashing arose and Hiccup snorted in laughter, knowing the dragon had probably nudged his bed so that it fell onto its side, had he been in it he would have been awoken by a wooden floor to the face.

_"Toothless! I'm down here!"_

_"Why didn't you say that earlier?"_ The dragon asked as he plodded down the steps, eyes still heavy, _"Also, your bed fell over again, it wasn't me, I bet it was Fyredart!"_

 _"Sure, Fyredart- the Terrible Terror the size of my leg- knocked over my solid oak bed."_ Hiccup sniggered.

 _"Yeah, he did,"_ Toothless muttered sleepily, clearly not paying attention, _"What's for breakfast?"_

 _"Fish, duh,"_ came the shriek from the window.

 _"Fyredart, we were just talking about you."_ Hiccup called.

_"I know, why do you think I came? I heard my name."_

_"Be that as it may, we both know the real reason is because you knew it was breakfast time and Hiccup always has extra fish."_ Toothless said, rolling his eyes.

 _"That's just a coincidence, but seeing as we're on the subject..."_ He turned to Hiccup, eyes big, round and sad.

 _"You know that doesn't work on me,"_ Hiccup said.

 _"Then it's a good thing it works on me,"_ A voice sounded from the doorway.

A girl stood in the opening, one hand on the doorknob and one hand grasping a wooden bow. Her quiver rested on her back and her bronze hair was done up simply, with half of it pulled back out of her eyes and the rest free to fall in natural and wild waves. She wore a dark green long-sleeved tunic and a leather skirt with dark turquoise leggings. Her brown fur boots were sturdy and comfortable. At her waist a simple belt held several pouches and a sword on her left hip. A satchel rested on her right hip. She had armoured plates on her shoulders and a thin cloak with a hood looped over her arm. Her eyes burned with a lively green fire of curiosity, contrasting her pale face. Her mouth twitched up into a grin as she put her bow in her quiver and reached into her satchel, pulling out a fish and tossing it to Fyredart.

 _"Aurora!"_ Fyredart screeched with a mouth full of fish. Aurora giggled.

 _"It's good to see you, how are the Beserkers?"_ Hiccup questioned, _"And the Bog Burglars, and –"_

 _"They're fine, and so are all the other tribes you asked me to check on."_ She replied _, "Seriously Hiccup, at least let me eat something before I tell you about my trip."_

 _"Fair enough, how was you flight?"_ He asked, embracing her and checking she wasn't injured.

 _"It was great, and I'm still in one piece, Hiccup, I haven't lost any legs."_ She teased. Hiccup simply stared at her with an are-you-serious look, she laughed.

 _"Where's Astra?"_ Toothless interrupted.

 _"She'll be here in a minute, she's just dropping off our camping stuff at our hut, she said to go on ahead and to tell you she's fine."_ Aurora answered with a smile, still sniggering about Hiccup's face.

A roar was heard and then a midnight black dragon burst into the hut, almost knocking Aurora over.

 _"Nice try Astra! But I was expecting you to do that!"_ Aurora said gleefully.

 _"Oh really? What about this?"_ Astra quipped, knocking the girl over with her tail and looking away innocently.

Upon closer inspection, the dragon was not just black; small, pearly-white scales were scattered within her hide and glittered like diamonds in the right light. One could also say that they sparkled like stars, thus her name- and what Aurora called her species: 'Star Fury'. The dragon was similar in build to a Night Fury but was slightly smaller. Her fire blast was also different, being green- like her eyes- and having a habit of exploding upon impact. The dragon was particularly good at hiding at night, as the stars helped camouflage her.

 _"Anything interesting happen?"_ Hiccup asked.

 _"No, unfortunately the archipelago is as boring as ever. Barely any dragon trappers and most of them were cowards anyway."_ Aurora sighed, getting up and glaring playfully at her dragon.

 _"Strangely, most people would be happy about that,"_ Astra muttered, _"Just my luck that my rider craves chaos and adventure, not that I'm one to talk. I still think I'm saner than you Aurora!"_

 _"No disagreements there Astra,"_ Aurora whispered, her eyes gaining that faraway quality that never boded well. Hiccup put his hand on her shoulder and Astra curled her tail around the girl, pressing her snout into one hand while Toothless nudged the other. Fyredart landed on her head and her face brightened, stretching into a grin, _"What about that breakfast, Hic? We're starving, we flew nonstop all night to get here in time."_

_"Okay, okay! Breakfast coming right up!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally met Aurora and Astra! Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!


	9. Breakfast With Memories

Aurora was silent throughout breakfast, and Hiccup glanced nervously at their draconic companions, all of them agreeing that this wouldn't end well if they didn't snap her out of it. Hiccup stood from his seat and walked around the table, kneeling beside her- she didn't acknowledge his presence, too entranced in her own thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, not so tight that she was trapped, but tight enough that she would realise he was there, no matter how lost in her thoughts she was. She relaxed and sunk into his arms, breathing heavily, but not crying- she never cried.

Her head rested on his shoulder and she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clenching and opening in short, sharp movements as she fought off the newest monster that decided to invade her mind. One hand dangled by her side and Astra nuzzled it, a reminder that she wasn't alone. Aurora reached out and placed her hand on her dragon's snout, rubbing the warm scales she found there, and turning her head to show her painful and grateful smile.

 _"What was it this time 'Rora?"_ Hiccup asked her quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking up at her.

 _"Same old, same old. The twisted memories of it. Fun, fun, fun."_ She answered, turning to look at Hiccup with slightly less haunted eyes, _"But it could be worse."_

Hiccup regarded her with soft, understanding eyes; like those of a brother calming his sister after a nightmare. Perhaps that analogy is the closest to the truth that one can convey with words.

_"You look exhausted, go get some sleep Aurora. I'll wake you in a couple hours, okay?"_

_"Don't you want a hand with the dishes?"_ She asked, gesturing to the table.

 _"He will be fine, my Sister,"_ Astra answered softly _, "Toothless, Fyredart and I can help him, you have been flying all night and need to rest."_

 _"You should also rest, Sister,"_ Toothless said, pointing with his snout _, "You have been flying as long as she has."_

Astra conceded to that point, though she knew that her presence whilst Aurora slept had a most useful tendency to stave off the nightmares that plagued her rider's mind. She only wished she could rid her rider, no; her sister, of the demons that ran through her already-fragile mind forever.

**********  
_"She's still suffering, bud. Do you think they'll ever stop?"_ Hiccup asked in a low voice.

Toothless considered the question, he didn't know. He wanted Aurora to be able to go through her life without constantly facing the horrors of her past, but he didn't know that she ever would. She would have good days, weeks even, where she was her regular, happy, bubbly self; and then there were the occasional few days- like today- where she would be completely out of it, and trapped in her own mind. They all hated those days, and actively tried to snap her out of it, they knew that if she were to stay that way for too long, she would panic and think it was all real, rather than knowing she was just watching it back.

 _"I don't know,"_ he replied eventually _, "But I hope so."_

********  
Berk was different. After five years of their Chief's troublesome heir being "dead", it was quieter, like a veil of mourning had settled there permanently, muffling all life and being more stubborn and pig-headed than the Vikings themselves, refusing to be lifted.

Six months after Hiccup's "death", Snotlout had been declared heir and quickly realised it was in no way everything it was cracked up to be, in short, it was dull- the only interesting event that had occurred at that time was the arena dragons escaping during a raid. He had previously believed that it was all about war and conquest- conquering faraway lands for honour and whatnot, it was a lot more than that. He discovered he had to look after the village and actually care about all the people- it was hard. He had to remember important events like treaty signing and when things had to be done by. After his first full day following his Uncle Stoick around, he felt like he had just been trampled on by a dragon. He was not amused when Fishlegs oh-so-helpfully pointed out that because of the time of year, he had followed Stoick on a slow day. The poor boy almost screamed in exasperation.

In time he had grown used to caring about all the villagers more and remembering important events, but he knew he would never amount to his cousin in many ways. It was quite ironic, Snotlout never truly understood Hiccup's position until he was in it, he couldn't understand how the scrawny fishbone had managed to remember all the important events, while genuinely caring about and knowing a lot about every villager, while simultaneously working at the forge daily and bearing all of the horrible comments people threw his way.

Snotlout was only having to manage two of those and almost every day he still felt like he had been trampled and set on fire by a dragon, when Hiccup had never seemed to be crumbling under the immense pressure of being the heir. Perhaps he underestimated his cousin all those years ago, and the boy was a lot stronger than he seemed. Whenever he thought about Hiccup, guilt pooled in his chest and his breath caught in his throat. He had so many regrets, and his prayers to the Gods were often about his wish of a chance to apologise and reconcile with his cousin. 

Stoick was a strong man, but even he had a breaking point. When he began teaching his nephew how to be his heir instead of his son, he made a habit of finishing his day early, going home, and mourning. Some days he was alone in his grief, but most days Gobber would join him. They would sit in silence and simply remember. He knew it was approaching the 5-year mark of his son's death, and he planned to spend it the same way he spent every year: sitting in Hiccup's room and trying to recall every detail of his son.  
  


Astrid also knew about the anniversary, she and the other young Berkian warriors who had trained with the boy were planning to go to the cove, to mourn privately.

Hiccup would never know the impact his "death" had made.

**********  
Hiccup didn't realise that the anniversary of his departure from Berk was coming up when he began to plan for a trip. He was too concerned about Aurora, even though she assured him that she was fine. They were going to visit some allies- the Defenders of the Wing and the Wingmaidens- as Aurora had been on the other side of the Archipelago and had not checked on them.   
He couldn't possibly have known how wrong it would go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment!  
> See you next time!


	10. Road Trip From Hel

_"You know I'd be perfectly safe on my own, right?"_ Aurora called from where she was securing her supplies on Astra's saddle.

 _"I know that,"_ he grumbled back, _"Excuse me for wanting to visit my friends and spend some time with my little sister."_

 _"You know I'm almost as tall as you, right?"_ She replied.

_"Whatever. Besides, I don't want you to fly too far that way alone, it's the more barbaric side of the archipelago."_

_"I know you have a huge thing against Berk,"_ Toothless growled at the name _, "Yes you too Toothless, but I'm not even going near it!"_

 _"What if there's a storm and we have to go out of our way?"_ Astra inquired.

 _"_ _He isn't_ _gonna stay behind no matter what I say,_ _is he_ _?"_ Aurora asked.

 _"Probably not,"_ Fyredart answered, appearing for nowhere but obviously listening the whole time, _"He is notoriously stubborn about everything."_

 _"You shouldn't eavesdrop, Fyredart, its rude,"_ Fyredart snorted in laughter, Hiccup often tried to teach him some form of politeness, he didn't seem to understand that such efforts were in vain, as the Terrible Terror simply didn't care, _"But he is right, I'm coming with you."_

Aurora sighed, then smirked. Hiccup smiled right back, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

 _"Race ya!"_ She called, hurrying to secure everything and take off.

 _"You're on!"_ Toothless replied, as Hiccup was too busy tying his supplies down.

Both dragons took off within seconds. They roared their goodbyes and, with great gusts of wind from mighty flaps of their wings, they zoomed up, into the afternoon sky to catch the high-speed wind currents, both riders screaming in delight at the speed.

**********

Not long after their departure from Freja Isle, the riders encountered a storm. Hiccup glanced over at Aurora, raising his eyebrows.

 _"Shut up,"_ She yelled over the wind as they manoeuvred around the storm, _"I think you jinxed it Astra."_

 _"I didn't jinx it, I called it. There's a difference."_ Astra growled back.

 _"_ _Oh yay(!)_ _Looks like we're gonna have to fly over Berk after all,"_ Hiccup groaned _, "We're gonna have to be careful."_

 _"I have a really bad feeling about this."_ Toothless muttered.

_"Yeah, you and me both bud."_

**********

Berk was silent, as it had been at night for over four years, since the daily raids had stopped mysteriously. The young warriors were taking their turn of patrol. No one saw the old woman standing on a platform at the back of her hut, no one would have thought much of it if they had- she was known to have evenings where she simply stood and stared at the stars.

Gothi reached into her pocket and brought out a single, midnight-black scale. It caught the light of the moon and the stars, becoming iridescent. Gothi frowned and closed her long, slender fingers around it; pulling her hand close to her chest. She stood her staff against the wall of her hut and reached into a nearby pot. When she had removed her hand, within it was grasped a small pile of fine yellow-grey powder. She picked up her staff in the hand with the scale still enclosed in it. Kneeling to the floor, she spread the powder in an arc in front of her. She tossed the scale up into the air and watched it land, a gentle breeze blew and disturbed the dust. Gothi watched all this with curiosity, the way the wind worked to only partially cover the scale, the shapes produced as the dust settled. She looked up, watching for a moving blackness and moving stars. She smiled as she saw them. Soon.

 _"May the Gods watch over you."_ The elder rasped, her throat warming at her first words for many years. Her eyes fixed on the almost invisible figures, and she remained watching as the moving stars began to plummet.

**********

The one who spotted them was Fishlegs, he hadn't meant to but he had looked up and noticed the stars disappearing and reappearing in an incredibly unusual manner. His first thought was the correct one: dragons. He tossed a bola with all of his might.

"Dragon incoming!" Was only screamed when he was certain it would hit, but the scream warned the dragon and they swerved out of the way, the other one was hit head on. Fishlegs only knew there was a second one when he heard the grunt upon impact.

The dragon began to plummet, somehow breaking out of the bolas metres above the ground, too close to stop, but close enough to slow down.

The other young warriors were there within seconds, but Fishlegs was there first, he started to bring his hammer down on the creature's tail, but found his strike blocked by a sword. He looked to his right in surprise, to find a very angry blonde readying her sword for another swing.

He stepped backwards to avoid her strike, she turned towards the dragon and leapt over it, flipping as she did and using that momentum to drive back the twins and Snotlout. The dragon knocked Astrid off her feet when she had begun to sneak up on the warrior.

Fishlegs had to admit, he was very impressed that the girl was fending off three of Berk's warriors at once. Her attacks were swift, sure and practiced- she clearly had a lot of experience. Her and the dragon seemed to be working as a team, that was incredibly strange, the thing that was most unusual was that the dragon was nothing like what he had ever seen before. He would have to think about that later, as she was thrashing everyone with very little trouble.

The older Vikings had finally arrived and immediately joined in with the fight, they didn't realise just how embarrassing it would be for them. The girl was still holding them all off, and the dragon was helping her. The reptile wasn't leaving her to fend for herself- though it could fly away easily- and it was careful not to hit her when it attacked the Vikings. The two worked in perfect tandem and seemed to know exactly what the other was going to do next, though no words were ever exchanged.

Eventually Ruffnut was able to succeed in sneaking up on the girl when both her and the dragon were distracted, the warrior was knocked in the head, and collapsed almost instantaneously, her eyes rolling up into her head. She was caught by the dragon, who tried to take off with the girl in its talons, but was overpowered and muzzled. As no one could recognise the species, it would remain alive- for now.

**********

Hiccup watched from high above, not being stupid enough to get involved when he saw there was nothing he could do. He saw Aurora go crazy and start to defend and attack, he saw her winning, and he saw Ruffnut sneaking up a moment too late, not that he could have warned Aurora or Astra. He watched Astra being dragged away from Aurora, towards the arena, and fury flooded his mind as he realised they were going to put his sister in a cold, dark cell. He was especially angry that they were separating the two, and he began formulating a plan to free them. Toothless shared his anger, and vowed to destroy the entire village if they tried to hurt Astra or Aurora, Hiccup echoed the sentiment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess how many chapters I have already written...  
> Hope you enjoyed, leave a comment!  
> See you next time!


	11. Hiccup Plans, Astra Acts

Gothi sighed, it seemed as though the fates wanted her to intervene again. She gathered her medicinal kit and headed towards the arena, knowing that it would currently be abandoned. She hummed a song whose words had been lost to time when she arrived, and a Terrible Terror crawled from its hiding place, she gave it a herb and pointed to the door where the newly captured dragon was being kept. The Terror trilled, and Gothi knew it would give the healing herb to the dragon. The elder then headed towards the cells, the girl was equally important in the future that Gothi had seen, and right now she needed medical attention. No one would stop the elder, if they tried she'd remind them that a healer can break things just as easily as fixing them.

She only had to knock one Viking outside the cells upside the head, after which she went on without interruption. She unlocked the door, and entered silently. She closed the door behind her and turned to look at the girl's form on the wooden bench that served as a bed, she was young, surely not much older than sixteen. Gothi applied some healing herbs to the small cut on the back of the unconscious warrior's head and wrapped it with a clean strip of linen. She checked her patient over, testing for a fever with the back of her hand. She was just packing away her kit when she noticed something.

A long, thin scar ran up the back of the girl's hand and disappeared beneath her sleeve. Gothi moved the sleeve upwards to see it continue, and become crisscrossed with other paled lines. The marks were old, that was for certain. Gothi stared sadly at them. She rolled up the other sleeve to find more marks. These scars spoke of torture inflicted on the girl by someone else, there were too many, and they were too long and straight to be caused by anything other than the hand of man.

Gothi rolled the girl's sleeves back down, and found herself wondering about the child's past, she shook her head- now was not the time.

She had folded a spare blanket to act as a pillow, and hoped it would alleviate the pain of the head injury.  
  


They landed in the cove, Hiccup wrenching himself from the saddle as soon as he landed. He groaned and cursed in dragonese.

_"I never should have let her come, I'm a complete idiot."_

_"No you aren't, she's just as stubborn as you and wouldn't have taken no for an answer,"_ Toothless interjected _, "Besides, she was going to see the others anyway, at least you were too stubborn to let her go without us. Now we can rescue both her and Astra."_

 _"That's a good point, only now we have to come up with a working plan."_ He cursed again, and Toothless briefly considered berating the boy, but realised it was pointless to do so, the Night Fury settled for fishing in the cove's lake, and collecting some wood for a possible fire later.  
  


The dragon lay still, preserving her energy for when she may need it. She knew it was useless to try to blast the door, even if she could get through it and the metal cage, there were hordes of Vikings she would have to fight though to get to wherever her rider was being kept. These humans were bad, nothing like Hiccup or Aurora or the other good humans she had met. She was afraid, being in a position such as this brought back terrible memories of days long past, being unable to protect her friends, her family from bad people.

She worried most for Aurora. Her rider had been captured by bad people before, but those had been worse. These Berkians were nothing compared to those merciless beasts.

A scratching sound became audible, snapping Astra from her thoughts. She growled low in response and warning, turning towards the noise to find a crimson Terrible Terror sitting and licking its eyeball, a small package grasped in its talons.

Astra bore her teeth reflexively at the small dragon.

 _"I don't threaten,"_ called the Terror. They kicked the paper-wrapped package towards Astra, who stopped it with her claw and growled low in her throat _, "That should help, it will give you some energy and pain relief. You will need all your possible energy if we are going to rescue your rider."_

 _"Aurora! How do you know about her?!"_ Astra roared _, "If you hurt her I swear to Freja –"_

_"First of all, how could I not know about her(?) The entire village is abuzz with the gossip of a dragon rider. Second of all, I'm going to help you find her, so don't kill me just yet."_

_"Why?"_ She asked.

_"Why, what?"_

_"Why are you helping me?"_ Replied Astra, tearing open the package and swallowing the herb in a single gulp.

 _"Because the fates have commanded me to."_ At the Star Fury's widened eyes, the Terror gave a low chuckle _, "I'm kidding, I have a two-legs as a friend, she protects me from the savages here and I do as she asks. The fates speak to her, not me."_

_"I- thank you, Brother-Terror."_

_"Please, call me Heller."_

_"Thank you, Brother-Heller. My hatchling calls me Astra,"_ Astra replied _, "I don't usually threaten, but I'm worried about her. Do you know if she is okay?"_

_"My hatchling is checking on her as we speak, I will bring news when I know, but for now you should rest."_

_"Perhaps you are right, swear to Freja you will tell me how my sister fares when you know?"_

_"You don't trust me?"_

_"I barely know you, and I have been burned before."_

_"Fair enough, I swear it. Now rest, Sister-Astra, I will watch and wake you soon enough."_

_"Thank you, Brother."_ With that, Astra laid her head down and closed her eyes, knowing that sleep would not be likely to arrive, but hoping she would achieve some state of restfulness.  
  


She had been lying there for not half of an hour when a scream shattered the serene calm Berk had settled into.

It was a piercing, tortured scream- one that only a truly tormented creature could make. A fearful, mourning sound that regretted things it could not control, but wished were different. Astra snapped her head up, recognising the voice behind it immediately. She thought nothing for her own well-being as she examined the door before her, searching for any weaknesses or gaps she could use. Nor did she consider the fact that there were an entire village of Vikings between her and her sister, she had one thought and one thought alone as Heller pointed to the gap he had entered her prison through- _protect Aurora_.

The Terror did not try to stop her, he knew it would have been pointless- a bond between a human and dragon was a powerful thing. Besides, he was in no mood to be ripped to shreds by an incredibly protective Star Fury.

The two words repeated in her head like a mantra, and other words joined- _find her, save her, never leave her alone again._ Nothing else mattered as a long-forgotten instinct arose, overtaking her. She heard a voice she hadn't heard for years, it whispered in her head and echoed at the same time: it told her to _focus, think about where you're going and how you're going to get there_. It repeated, and words of encouragement flitted through her mind, so much like how her rider spoke.

A shiver danced down her spine to her tail, and perhaps- were the circumstances different- she found it pleasant, like it was right. But she had no time to enjoy it, for a second scream reached her ears, triggering something she had utterly forgotten she could do. Either the whole world was growing, or she was shrinking: and she knew from the depths of her flames to the tips of her wings that it was the latter. She zipped through the passage and took flight without delay, weaving between the metal cage's gaps and transforming back to her usual size in midair, before tilting her wings just so and heading towards the cells.

She shot a ball of emerald flame that spit sparks as it flew, and exploded upon impact- needless to say, it terrified all the Vikings that had gathered when they heard screaming, and Astra would certainly smile at that later. But only after Aurora was safe.

Astra dive-bombed, landing with such fury that several Vikings turned and ran away, she paid them no heed, running through the hole that had been formed by her blast, in search of her hatchling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hej allesammen! Hope you enjoyed, as always please comment and I'll see you next time!


	12. Sarcasm And Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realised I haven't mentioned my amaZHANG beta! She is literally an angel so this is for you Weeaboo!

Hiccup snapped awake to a familiar scream, _Aurora_. He and Toothless got up quickly, neither had a plan- Hiccup had been working on one before he drifted off, and had fallen asleep thinking about statistical possibilities of success- but nothing mattered in that moment. Toothless was angry at the Vikings and about ready to tear their throats out, clearly whatever they had done was reminding their sister of times best forgotten. Hiccup had just fastened himself to the saddle and secured his mask when the second scream wrenched itself from his little sister's throat, they took off without delay, both knowing exactly what would happen if they didn't rescue her. Hiccup formulated snippets of a plan as they arrowed across the forest, pasting them together somewhat haphazardly into something that he prayed to the Gods would work. They were thirty seconds away from the village when they heard the sound of Astra's signature blast exploding, probably on impact against the wall of the jail.

 _"Huh, terrified screams, didn't see that one coming(!)"_ It seemed that Hiccup's impeccable sense of sarcasm would never fade.

Toothless didn't spare any energy to reply or even roll his eyes, instead focusing on diving towards the ground and through the hole that had been melted into the wall of the jailhouse. _Wait, melted?!_

 _"Well, Astra's pissed."_ Toothless deadpanned.

_"Clearly."_

They had no more time to chat as they rounded a corner and came across a scene that made them both more furious.

Aurora was sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up close to her chest, her eyes flickering between glassy and terrified, her head jerked and her eyes widened as she grasped around her for something to hold on to, her left hand found dirt and her right brushed against the smooth scales of a star-speckled reptile, she moved towards her right- curling in on herself. Said reptile curled her tail closer to her hatchling, her sister, as she brandished her wings and teeth, snarling at the guards in front of her.

There were three young warriors preventing their escape. The first wore dark colours, and a dark blue tunic that was had a brown leather belt with an engraving of the Berkian Crest on the buckle. He wore an iron helmet with a horn pointing from either side atop his short, black hair. His face displayed a mix of anger, spite and complete disdain at what he saw. The other two were almost identical, save for the colours of their tunics and the slight variations of how they kept their hair. The girl wore a yellow tunic and had three thick, blonde braids: one either side of her face and one down her back. The boy wore a grey-blue tunic and left his blond hair long, free and straight. Both twins- for that is, of course, what they were- wore a metal helmet identical to their sibling.

Snotlout raised his bludgeon and the twins pointed their wickedly sharp spears at the dragon, only for all the weapons to be shot out of the hands of their respective owners from behind..

They turned, and came face-to-face with a beyond angry midnight black Night Fury, and its tall-looking rider in scale-covered armour with a terrifyingly dragon-like mask who now had another thing to hate about them. One thing you have to remember about Night Furies- and their riders- you don't threaten their families if you want to survive. Unfortunately for Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, that is exactly what they had just done- not that they knew that.

Toothless shot a plasma blast at their feet, knocking them over as Hiccup leapt from the saddle. Astra fired a small bolt of fire at Snotlout's helmet, knocking him out cold on impact- it probably wasn't fatal. If it was, she would have saved several other Chiefs and their Heirs the trouble of dealing with him- to say nothing of trouble saved for herself- and if it wasn't he'd still wake with an awful headache _. Serves him right,_ she thought, watching as Hiccup simply crouched to the ground to avoid the twins' famous head butt- which knocked them both out _, He deserves much worse for even thinking of threatening Aurora._

 _"Good riddance,"_ Toothless growled, glancing at the unconscious Vikings _, "Now we should get out of here."_

 _"Agreed,"_ Hiccup muttered _, "Can you two cover us?"_ He asked, gesturing to Aurora.

 _"On it,"_ Astra replied, placing herself between her and Toothless's riders and the opening. Hiccup somehow managed to get Aurora on Toothless- despite her disastrous state of mind- and Astra nuzzled her rider gently, reassuring the girl of her presence.

As soon as Hiccup was on Toothless, and had fastened himself and Aurora to the saddle, they went through the passages carefully and quickly, stopping only to pick up Aurora's confiscated gear from the room Hiccup knew it would be in, before exiting the cells through the gigantic hole Astra had made, taking flight immediately and zipping above the clouds in the blink of an eye. The guards that had been stationed there were knocked back into the walls and out by the great gusts the dragons made with their wings.

Astra turned on wingtip, quickly shooting a very explosive fireball at the weapons storage before turning back to follow Toothless and catching up. She smirked gleefully at the sound of the explosion.

 _"What did you blow up?"_ The Night Fury sighed.

 _"Oh, nothing. I didn't blow anything up."_ Astra said in the most innocent voice she possessed. Toothless rolled his eyes.

_"What did you blow up? C'mon, tell me."_

_"Ugh, fine,"_ Astra muttered, _"Their weapons storage, but they deserved it!"_

 _"So much for a low profile,"_ Hiccup groaned.

_"Hey, it's not my fault they shot us out of the sky!"_

_"True,"_ Toothless observed.

_"Yeah! I—"_

_"But it is your fault that their weapons storage is on fire."_ Toothless finished.

 _"They should not have threatened Aurora. Retribution, brother. I actually think they deserve worse than that but I'm not raising Hel or bringing a few very aggressive, and territorial, dragons here until I know Aurora is okay and we are off of this Gods-forsaken Isle."_ She was only partially joking about the last part, Toothless knew. She probably wasn't going to ask a few of the more aggressive dragons she knew to destroy the majority of the island, but she wouldn't be upset if that were to happen- in all honesty, she'd probably cheer them on. But Toothless also saw her worried glance at Aurora, whose eyes still remained glassy, and knew that the Star Fury had been hoping her rider would interrupt with something about how she would shred the Vikings with her sword first, to make it easier for any dragons who wanted to set the place on fire.

 _"Fair enough."_ Toothless replied, looking at his sister with concern in his eyes.

It was going to be a long night for all of them, and he had already started planning about what he was going to do to help when they landed. Namely- lighting the fire, going fishing and being there however he was needed. He already knew he would have to force Astra and Hiccup to eat something, and that they would eventually get Aurora to eat something, but it would take time. Time that he hoped they had, but he had a sneaking suspicion that a search party would be sent for the two riders and their dragons, he prayed to any Gods that were listening that they would at least have some warning so that they could hide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought!


	13. Poisoned Visions And Astrid Is Pissed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe I was today years old when I first listened to lofi hip hop radio? I have been missing out guys!
> 
> ***Danke to my muy bueno beta/editor!***

The moment they landed, Toothless checked the surroundings with his keen eyes and ears, the others had eyes only for Aurora, who had been helped off the saddle by Hiccup and was now leaning against Astra's side, between the dragon's head and wing joint. It had always seemed to settle her during one of her "episodes" and this time was no different- already her body was less tense and she had stopped hyperventilating. The girl sat with her legs pulled up close to her chest and her back pressed firmly up against her dragon. Said dragon curled herself around her hatchling, looking up at her with soft, scared eyes. Astra adjusted herself so that her wing lay nearby to Aurora, not fully stretched, but also curved around her broken sister- another sign of protection, a message of _I am here now,_ and _I won't leave_ , but most importantly: _you are safe_.

A rider's bond with their dragon is a truly beautiful and mysterious phenomenon. It somehow grants both parties a deeper understanding of many things. It is believed- by some dragon-friendly tribes- that a truly strong bond between dragon and rider can grant certain abilities to both. Nothing too flashy, but things like accelerated healing or telepathic connections. And they also believe that dragons are born with human counterparts, they say that you will meet your dragon- and they will meet you- when you need each other the most. It isn't always as dramatic as that, but it is believed that bonds forged in the flames of fear and necessity are the strongest.

Some say these are old stories, but stories always have a grain of truth within them.

For example, mere hours after being reunited with her dragon, Aurora was breathing slightly easier.

The girl was far from her usual self, the cell alone had brought back some terrible memories, and entrapped her within them.

**********

To be stuck in one's memories is an experience. It's terrifying, the images of your worst experiences appear and envelope you, its hard to remember that it isn't real.

A shadowed cell appeared, rusty iron bars. A metallic tang poisoned the air, a beat. A new room, gruff voices muttering in the darkness, the rough wooden chair scratched at her arms, her bonds dug into her, the rope unyielding and sharp.

 _"Aurora!"_ A voice echoed, faraway, it seemed friendly and familiar, but she couldn't place it.

 _"Aurora! Snap out of it!"_ Aurora? Was that her name? Funny, she couldn't recall, she couldn't see where the voice was coming from either. She shook her head, trying to clear the fuzziness from it, but three images surfaced and remained. A shadowed figure, a dagger, the jagged; unnatural criss-crossed patterns. She squeezed her eyes shut- they were open?- and tried to block everything out. But the voice, the gentle trills that sounded friendly and familiar broke through, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to follow it? It sounded reassuring, an instinct deep inside told her it was protection. She tried to follow it out of her nightmare, blocking all else out. The shadowed figure faded away, the dagger disappeared, the patterns paled, another voice joined the one she followed. It was deeper and soft, like that of a brother, but retained a slight youth in the pitch, another voice joined. The third voice was warm, like dragon fire, and more similar to the second than the first in how deep it was, but retained the soft growling edge of the first.

The voices became clearer, but faded all too quickly and she found herself in a dark, dingy corridor that stretched and faded into black. No, not again! Her heart rate quickened, she saw a young girl, perhaps 10, run forward, and she found herself following. She wasn't sure if she was chasing the child or running from the same thing, but she began to think that the latter was correct, as she heard heavy footfalls behind her. She kept going, speeding past the little girl. Looking back, she saw a face weathered with fear and maturity, eyes so dark they almost snuffed out the now-dim spark of youth, skin that hadn't seen the sun for far too long. The girl was leached of life, but she kept running, as though her life depended on it- perhaps it did?- the little girl's ragged tunic rode up as she ran, revealing a painfully protruding ribcage. The scene was familiar, but not in the same way the soft voice had been, where was that voice now?

A hand reached from the darkness behind the child- Aurora tried to yell, to warn the little girl, but her efforts were in vain as no sound came out- she watched, paralysed, as the hand grabbed the girl by her wild hair and wrenched her backwards, her mouth too small for her dark scream. A sharp stab of pain burst on the back of Aurora's head, and she squeezed her eyes shut, opening them to the same situation she had observed the girl in, the same situation she had been in, once. She screamed.

**********

"Arrggghhhh! I can believe you let the prisoner escape!" Astrid yelled.

"Hey, the twins were guarding her too!" Snotlout defended, "Why aren't you yelling at them?"

"Do they look like they know or care about anything that is going on right now?!" Astrid yelled back, gesturing to the two unconscious figures on the ground who were just barely coming around.

"They knocked me unconscious too." Snotlout muttered.

"I thought you were at least smart enough to not turn your back on a Gods-damned DRAGON!" Astrid yelled, clearly hearing what Snotlout said whether he meant for that or not.

"I hate to interrupt, but I found something," Fishlegs interjected, gesturing to the midnight black and pearly white scales on the ground, "We've seen these before."

"We've never seen white dragon scales before you—" Snotlout started, before being cut off by both twins, suddenly fully conscious.

"I know where we saw them!" They turned and glared at one another.

"No you don't! You're a butt-elf!" Ruffnut told her twin.

"Bride of Grendel!" Tuffnut retaliated.

"Troll!" Ruffnut said, slugging her brother in the stomach.

"Oh, I am hurt, I am very hurt!"

Astrid rolled her eyes, barely resisting the urge to slam the twins' heads together and then into the ground.

"As I was saying," Fishlegs continued, a most exasperated expression on his face and irritation clear in his voice, "We found scales just like those at the cove, but they were black."

"You think this new dragon is one of the ones that killed Hiccup?" Snotlout asked.

"It's possible." Fishlegs replied.

"The Night Fury is mine." Astrid growled.

"It's very unlikely that they're still here Astrid," Fishlegs said, "We should get some rest, our guarding shift is over anyway. I know you want to look for them, but you can't when you are exhausted."

The young warriors of Berk resolved to meet at the edge of the forest the next morning after breakfast, and- pushing all thoughts of the escaped dragon and prisoner to the backs of their minds- headed back to their respective homes.  
  
  
  


Hiccup, Toothless and Astra had been awake almost all night- they had taken shifts- they had been watching over Aurora as she had drifted between frantic unconsciousness and almost being awake. The girl was very much trapped in her own head, and had bouts of being completely unresponsive or seeming to come back to herself and then drifting away again. They tried soothing her the best that they could, but knew that sometimes all they could do was wait for the relapse to pass.

Astra nuzzled her restless sister gently as she squirmed. The dragon had barely slept, all too aware of the turmoil her rider was in.

Toothless shot a glance at his adoptive sister, he knew Astra hadn't slept much, less than both he and Hiccup had- he understood- but he was worried.

Hiccup snuck back through the forest to the cove, he had left Toothless there to watch over Aurora and Astra- they both knew how exhausted the two were. His feet, sure and steady as ever, guided him through the forest. The familiar route caused memories to resurface, he recalled being ridiculed and fleeing to the quiet and safe serenity the trees offered, the silent solace of their shelter from the elements, dragon raids and Vikings his only one in his old life. It was strangely peaceful, in some demented, strange way. He kept on through a heavily wooded area of the forest, heading towards a lake he recalled from his childhood, one that had always been brimming with fish.

Toothless glanced at his sister, and found a question popping into his head.

_"Astra?"_

_"Yes, Brother?"_ Astra looked up from Aurora's face, cocking her head to the left.

_"How did you escape the cage they were keeping you in?"_

_"I..."_ She trailed off, _"I don't know. I met a Terror named Heller who gave me a healing herb and told me that his human-hatchling was going to see Aurora, and that she would be fine. Heller told me to rest and when I heard Aurora scream I leapt up. I felt some sort of tingling sensation, all down my spine and tail, and the next thing I knew, I was the size of a Terror and Heller was pointing me towards where he had come in. I flew out and to Aurora."_ She didn't mention the voice she thought she had heard, or how right the tingle felt, she didn't want to worry Toothless that she was loosing her mind as her rider was.

Toothless was about to ask more questions, before Aurora's eyes finally snapped open, and she released a blood-curdling scream.

The whole island heard it; the warriors of Berk gathered a search party within minutes and set off to find the cause of it; Hiccup turned and bolted back through the forest to the cove, silently thanking Toothless for the special speed training; Toothless and Astra tried to soothe Aurora, who had curled up into a ball, muttering things that made no sense as she rocked back and forth, they prayed Hiccup would return soon; Gothi stood on her porch behind her hut, a familiar flame-coloured Terrible Terror landed on her outstretched arm, curling around his hatchling's neck and nuzzling her face in greeting, she stroked his muzzle and, kissing it gently, asked him to watch the two siblings and their dragons, but stay safe. He departed with a final nuzzle, and a vow that he would keep her informed, she responded with the promise of a big basket of fish when he returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	14. Hiccup Does Something Stupid [Big Surprise(!)]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did we do to deserve dogs? Nothing, we don't deserve them but they're the sweetest and kindest so they stay with us anyway.
> 
> #ihavethebestestbetaeditorfriendandiwillfightyouonthat

His feet pounded against the ground, striking a steady rhythm despite his frenzied state of urgency. His heart rate matched the rate at which his feet hit the dirt and his breath came in short bursts. He had to get to the cove.

The Berkian warriors warily navigated between the trees, avoiding any obstacles that could make a sound. It cost them their speed, but it was better than alerting the outsiders to their position, especially considering they were uncertain as to where said outsiders were.

Aurora had only screamed once, but it was enough, both dragons were fully sure that they were being hunted by the local barbarians. Toothless was patrolling around the cove, attempting to collect all their supplies together the best he could with no hands. Astra was trying, desperately trying to bring Aurora back to reality, to no avail. Hiccup returned minutes after Aurora had screamed. He locked eyes with his dragon; a whole conversation passed in that moment, no words needing to be exchanged as Hiccup instantly began packing up and attaching their gear to the dragons. He secured his mask on his face and Aurora's on her face, before lifting her onto his dragon and mounting in front, strapping them both to the saddle. Toothless took off, and was followed swiftly by Astra, before she released a shriek of pain. Toothless turned to see his sister plummeting to the ground, captured immediately by the Berkians. He was enraged, but fought his natural instinct to attack in favour of a tactical retreat, he may be fast, but carrying two Not-Vikings seriously decreased his manoeuvrability, and he couldn't risk Hiccup and Aurora being captured. He roared to Astra, knowing she would understand.

_"We will come back for you!"_

_"Don't worry about me!"_ She called back, _"Just look after Aurora!"_ With that she was dragged away.

Toothless flew to the caves of Berk, landing in a large, dark cavern. Hiccup leapt off his dragon's back, cursing in dragonese with language so colourful you could paint with it.

 _"Language."_ Toothless tried to lighten the mood.

Hiccup released a painful bark of a laugh, turning to glare at his dragon _. "You're one to talk."_

Hiccup turned towards his sister, deciding enough was enough.

 _"Aurora you have to come back!"_ He shook her shoulders _, "Or we are all so completely, royally screwed!"_ Still no response, he trudged over to the wall of the cave, and began softly banging his head against it.

Toothless looked worriedly at his rider, before turning to Aurora and trying one last thing.

_"Astra needs you, she's in trouble."_

**********

The darkness swallowed her again- familiar voices sounded, but they were slurred and muffled, like she was listening from underwater. She floated in the murky black for hours it seemed, before a voice rang through, clearer this time.

 _"Aurora...come back...we are...royally screwed!"_ A tremor danced down her spine. Another voice cut through the silence, deep and measured. Melodic, almost.

 _"Astra needs you,"_ Astra? Images of a sleek, midnight black reptile with starry scales flooded her vision _, "She's in trouble."_  
  
_No._

Aurora trembled with newfound energy, she kicked her legs, swimming up through the shadows that held her prisoner. Her sister was in trouble, and not even the Gods could stop her now. Her sword bounced against her right thigh, how long has that been here? She drew it, striking at the tendrils of darkness that reached out and threatened to grab her again. She finally surfaced, gasping for air in a dark cave, she took in her surroundings, Toothless stared at her like she'd grown a second head, Hiccup was ramming his head into a sheet of rock.

 _"I don't think that 'knocking some sense into you' is quite that literal."_ She called at him, smirking mischievously as he turned to her with wide eyes _, "Besides, it's my job to knock some sense into you."_  
  


Hiccup ran at her, enveloping her in a gigantic bear hug as Toothless wrapped his wings around the two.

 _"I am beyond glad that you're back and okay."_ Hiccup laughed.

 _"Yeah, well. Close enough at least,"_ she chuckled back _, "I'm glad too, was not fun in my head, Bro."_

_"I can only imagine."_

_"Wouldn't recommend you try."_ Toothless quipped.

" _Yeah, my head might explode."_

 _"Anyway, you both look like crap- though I'm probably not one to talk- what the Hel happened while I was MIA?"_ The boys glanced nervously at each other.

 _"You may want to sit down for this, Sis."_ They insisted that she eat something and have some water while they told her everything that had happened, not that she was refusing to.

After they had told her everything from her being captured to her waking up, she sighed.

_"Sorry about causing that much trouble you guys."_

_"It's not like you meant to or could help it."_

_"I'm still mad at myself, I assume a plan is already in the works for rescuing Astra?"_

_"Yep, but now it might actually work."_ Hiccup informed her.

_"It wouldn't if I was still MIA?"_

_"It requires fighting our way through a horde of Vikings."_ The boy stated, somewhat embarrassedly.

 _"Yeah, and Hiccup really isn't the one we like to rely on for that."_ Toothless added.

 _"Fair point."_ Aurora conceded.

_"Hey! That's...harsh."_

_"You never said it was untrue."_

_"Yeah- but...shut up Toothless."_ The reptile in question chuffed a laugh, Hiccup simply glared and sighed in irritation.

 _"Anyway,"_ Aurora huffed _, "Can we please get back to the issue at hand? We need a plan."_

 _"We have one,"_ Hiccup interjected, _"Here's what we're gonna do..."_

**********

Astrid glared at the captured dragon, who took it as a challenge and stared right back. Neither blinked, until Astrid couldn't take it anymore and had to, the dragon chuffed, seemingly laughing at her. No one laughs at me! Astrid hit the iron bars with the flat of her axe, causing them to ring out- somewhat melodic- and causing the dragon to curl up to hide from the horrendous noise.

"What are you doing?" Asked Fishlegs.

"Watching the prisoner," Astrid spat, "I won't let it escape again."

Fishlegs sighed as he exited the arena, Astrid was more aggressive towards all dragons nowadays, he supposed it had something to do with the fact that the Chief's son had been carried away by one, and the fact that Astrid clearly took it personally. She had stood at the lake in the cove that fateful day, she didn't think anyone saw her shoulders slump in disbelief and despair. Fishlegs saw, though. Fishlegs saw more than people gave him credit for. He noticed the changes people had gone through after Hiccup had been declared dead, he saw how spite had hardened his friends to the terrible truth of their existence- fighting; always fighting, he saw how Stoick and Gobber became inseparable- as all they had was snatched from them by the talons of a dragon. He watched as people realised what they had caused, as they finally understood how much Hiccup helped them all. He noted that Gothi had become more distant from the village, as though she were ashamed of them- so she should be.

Astrid was particularly bad today, as it was the anniversary of Hiccup's death.

Fishlegs was disappointed that the dragon would be slaughtered today, but knew that the tradition that had started on the first anniversary of the Heir's death would be continued, all the Berkians felt that it somehow made up for their cruelty to the boy- fools. He wanted to learn more about this new species, he still hadn't thought of a name for it.

**********

Astra glanced out of the cell again, again meeting the eyes of a blonde, angry warrior. The dragon rolled her eyes and settled herself down to rest, knowing she couldn't escape while the girl watched. The Star Fury closed her eyes and remembered her last experience in this cage, she had escaped- somehow- but she couldn't trigger that delightful tremble down her spine to change her size. She assumed that it was too dangerous for Heller to come during the day. Her mind wandered, and she shivered, her tail twitched with nervous energy. She groaned _. I know you're planning something Aurora, please don't do anything stupid._

Her ears picked up at the sound of scratching talons, she looked to her left- into the shadows. Her heart leapt at the sight of a crimson tail.

 _"Heller?"_ She growled lowly, trying not to attract attention.

 _"Hush, Astra."_ He replied _, "I come with news, your hatchling has returned to herself. She and your brothers have a plan to rescue you, but you must be careful. My hatchling has warned that if you aren't rescued soon the barbarians will put you to death in vengeance."_

_"Vengeance for what?"_

_"Vengeance for their Chieftain's Heir."_

Astra cursed _, "Thank you, I owe you my life."_

_"Don't thank me yet, you still aren't free. Your sister will be taking care of that. I bid you luck, Sister-Fury, stay safe Astra."_

_"Thank you, Brother-Heller."_

She bowed her head in his direction, a gesture to show respect and appreciation, and listened to his wings as he fled, knowing that the gesture was reciprocated. She turned to the sound of hinges screaming for oil, and collapsed as a net made impact, slamming her against the wall, rendering her immediately unconscious.

**********

Aurora watched as her injured, unconscious sister was paraded through the village on a cart, completely trapped. The idiotic Vikings had assumed that she, Hiccup and Toothless would abandon their captured sister. _When Hel freezes over._

A dragon's loyalty is beyond measure, and to the death. Having had lived with dragons for many years, Aurora and Hiccup had acquired this trait, and they protected their own. The Vikings were so screwed.

They watched as Astra was put on display in the town square. They skirted around buildings- hiding in the shadows that were plentiful in the early evening. It took all Aurora had to not leap out and attack now, but she stuck to the plan, Astra's life depended on it.

All seemed to be going well, until the villagers began to gather, as though a spectacle or announcement were about to take place. Something is going on- Aurora narrowed her eyes, widening them when she realised just what was going to happen. She grabbed Hiccup's arm, leading him to the outskirts of the village, where they had left Toothless.

 _"Clouds, now!"_ Neither Hiccup nor Toothless argued, they both realised what was going to happen too.

The trio launched into the air silently, and not a moment too soon, as a certain set of troublemaking twins rounded the corner seconds after their departure, insulting each other- as usual.

Aurora watched carefully, securing her mask as she listened to the Chief's booming voice. The man reached for his sword. Aurora stood up, unbuckling herself.

 _"Are you sure that's a good idea?!"_ Hiccup asked frantically.

 _"Do you think that she cares?"_ Toothless responded.

 _"I'm saving Astra, end of discussion."_ With that, Aurora plummeted from Toothless's back, rolling on impact of the ground. She sprung up, drawing her sword and blocking Stoick's as it would have struck her now conscious dragon.

Hiccup cursed as he watched her be stormed by warriors, she fought them off, somehow.

 _"Gods-damn-it."_ He unbuckled himself and secured his helmet. He set Toothless' tail to auto and slid off, opening his gliding suit and kicking a Viking from behind before he rolled onto the ground. He drew his sword and fought his way to his sister.

 _"You always were a sore loser,"_ he joked _, "I'll hold them off, you get Astra!"_

 _"Them beating me was a fluke!"_ She yelled as she fought her way to her dragon.

Toothless aided the best he could from the sky, before landing to take out a Viking who had the gall to try and sneak up on Hiccup, it- naturally- was Snotlout. The boy was quickly knocked out by a blast from the now-free- and enraged- Star Fury. Aurora was about to mount Astra and fly away, but was grabbed by a meaty hand and thrown to the ground, her sword skidding away and a different one held to her neck.

Hiccup saw his father advance from the air, he had taken off seconds after Snotlout had been knocked out, knowing Aurora would follow as Astra was free. He saw both Aurora and Astra held at swordpoint, and didn't think, he simply yelled.

"No, Dad, STOP!" He regretted it immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big oof for Hiccup here.  
> Let me know what you think!


	15. Stoick Is an Idiot And Gothi Gets Mad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how many jaffa cakes I can fit in my mouth at once...
> 
> I want to hug my beta/editor cause she's the best.

A voice rang out across the battlefield, "No, Dad, STOP!".

Aurora cursed in dragonese, no one noticed, too focused on the owner of the voice who had landed in the square. Astra retreated from the swords carefully, following the most stealthy route to Aurora, who was watching Hiccup in dismay.

Hiccup kept an eye on his sisters, and an eye on the Vikings, a few who moved towards him. He dismounted his dragon, knowing the manoeuvrability it provided would serve him well if he needed to get to his sisters. Toothless emitted a low growl of warning and Hiccup's hand moved straight to the hilt of his sword, grasping it as he scanned the crowd for the threat. He was startled to discover it was Stoick.

"Remove your mask." Spitelout ordered, somehow able to speak despite the vice-like grip of tenseness the whole village could feel.

The boy removed his mask slowly, tilting his face down, watching all around, as though searching for an escape- to be fair, he was. His olive eyes caught the light and his auburn hair caught the wind. The pale scar on his chin could just barely be made out in the twilight, Stoick's eyes widened.

"Hiccup?" His father breathed, some odd emotion flickering in his eyes.

He didn't answer, glancing around at anything but his father- catching Aurora's eye and noticing she had mounted Astra, and was safe. He inclined his head very slightly, mouthing the word _Fury_. _Fury_ was a tactic the group used as a distraction when they needed a way out. She nodded back, and they took off, Astra's wings creating the classic Fury screech that was rightfully feared. All the Vikings ducked instinctively, turning to watch where the dragon flew, it gave Hiccup five seconds to mount Toothless and launch into the air, or it should have.

His father turned back after three seconds, just in time to see his son's emerald eyes almost glowing in the pale moonlight as their eyes met.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup whispered, barely audible, "For everything." His dragon launched into the sky, his whistle joining his sister's.

Stoick stood for a moment, dumbfounded, before his face hardened and he made his decision.

"Shoot those dragons down!" He hollered.

**********

 _"I'm starting to like your father less and less, Hiccup!"_ Aurora yelled as bolas began flying.

 _"He isn't exactly growing on me either!"_ Astra added.

 _"Can we please talk about this after we are out of this ridiculously dangerous situation?!"_ Hiccup groaned in exasperation.

 _"Watch out!"_ Astra roared, seeing a bola headed straight for her brother and throwing herself at it, planning to blast it to pieces. But she couldn't fire fast enough. She was caught and fell from the sky, Aurora cursing all the way.

**********

The dragon plummeted, panicked roars reaching the village's ears. It landed with a thud, and the sound of a snap resonated around the village. A weak groan sounded, followed by panicked growls and trills. Astrid moved towards the reptile carefully, watching it twitch in what could only be pain. One of its wings were curled around its body, the other stuck out and twisted at an unnatural angle. The dragon squirmed, trying to break free. Astrid and the other young warriors circled it and pointed their weapons in warning, it curled up further- whimpering.

Stoick stepped forward, before being blown back by a plasma blast impacting the ground before him. The Night Fury landed solidly behind Ruffnut and Fishlegs; they turned to face a charging fluorescent blast, which rocketed them off their feet upon impact.

**********

A furious dragon and his rider faced the others, both roaring in indignation. Toothless bared his teeth, snarling with emotion that met his namesake to a T. Hiccup leapt off his dragon, drawing his sword to cut the bolas Astra was entangled in. He checked her over in a cursory glance, cursing in dragonese when he realised her wing was broken, and that she was completely out of it. He looked under her wing at Aurora, who was unconscious and appeared to have several broken bones. Hiccup was pissed. He leapt up at the oncoming Vikings, sword in hand, and began fencing masterfully with several warriors at once. His dragon blasted a couple and struck with his tail, defending his sisters with everything he had.

Hiccup faced the last one of the teens he had trained with, Astrid. He fought wearing a deadly mask, emotionless and like that of an assassin. They battled viciously, and he knocked Astrid out within seconds.

The rider turned to face the Berkians, snarling, until one man stepped forward. He limped, favouring his left leg- as it was the only whole one. He raised his arms slowly, removing the hammer that was in the place of his left hand, and tossing it to his right. Unknowingly, he was repeating what the boy in front of him had done to gain a dragon's trust all those years ago. By discarding his weapon, he was indicating that he could be trusted, that he meant no harm.

"Hiccup, laddie, please. Stop this." He beseeched the boy. He listened.

Dragon riders spend much time around their dragons, so much so that they can take on qualities from their brothers and sisters of wings and talons. Therefore, Gobber's actions to prove that he was not threatening- especially disarming himself- had even more of an effect on Hiccup.

Hiccup shook his head, freeing himself of the last tendrils of the intense rage that had overtaken him. He stopped attacking, but did not lower his sword. Only a fool would disarm themselves when surrounded by barbarians who all held weapons tightly like ropes that kept them from falling.

Gobber noticed the boy glancing at said weapons, and quickly put two-and-two together.

"Lower yer weapons!" When no one obeyed he looked to Stoick in desperation, his eyes conveying his agonising fear of what could become.

"Do it! Now!" Stoick commanded, and they all did.

Hiccup lowered his sword slightly, no longer feeling cornered, but still cautious. Toothless nudged his sister, who was just coming round, jerking her injured wing and causing her to shriek in pain. It set off a flurry of motion.

The Vikings advanced again and Hiccup and Toothless prepared to defend, everything stopped when a roar was heard. Everyone glanced to where the blood-curdling sound had originated from, to see a small; flame-coloured Terrible Terror flapping furiously. It landed on the outstretched arm of a petite old woman; she held a staff and a leather bag in her other hand. Some Vikings gasped, but were silenced by her razor-sharp glare. She purposefully walked over to the fallen dragon, her dragon leapt from its perch upon her shoulder, nuzzling the other's face in an effort to rouse it.

Gothi had steam shooting from her ears as she glared all around at the guilty faces of Vikings who she had healed since the beginning, she was ashamed of every one of them. Her eyes softened when they landed on Hiccup and Toothless, and watered in pity when they landed upon Astra- still shielding her rider from the Vikings.

Gothi pointed her staff at Gobber, then slammed it on the ground. He stumbled over to her, and she began to write in runic script in the dirt, careful to ensure that there would be no miscommunication.

"I can't say tha'!" Gobber screeched, he made a more horrendous sound when she grasped his ear in an iron grip, pinching it tightly.

"Alrigh'! Gothi says she's very disappointed and- uh- angry with all of us. She is beyond tha', actually. She says if we don't let 'er fix up th' lass an' the dragon we'll- uh- face the consequences." Gobber was avoiding the bad language the best he could.

No one wanted to cross Gothi, she had allies everywhere and had been- in her younger years- known as "Gothi the Fearsome", she could still hit you very hard with her staff.

She was left alone. She looked over the girl and the dragon, and then scribbled something in the dirt hastily, which Gobber translated.

"She says tha' th' lass needs somewhere to rest an' tha' it needs to be somewhere th' dragon can fit too."

"The arena!" Some idiot Viking called. They were swiftly silenced when two fire blasts hit the ground close enough that they were singed, and fainted. Toothless and Heller growled lowly, they would not be so merciful again.

"Someone's gonna need some new skivies," Gobber muttered, before turning to translate the angry scribbling Gothi was scratching into the ground, "No one is gonna put 'em in a cage or you will face 'er wrath." The man shuddered. "She also says Stoick 'as a spare room that'll do perfectly."

Hiccup cursed in dragonese, Gothi shot him a glare- _language_ \- and he shut up. He wasn't going to disagree- all he wanted was his sister to be safe, after all- but that didn't mean he had to pretend he was happy about it.

Stoick was still speechless from learning Gothi was on the dragon riders' side, but made no move to disagree with the elder's ruling- he wasn't that stupid.

 _"Fine."_ Hiccup and Toothless grunted, forgetting they were around Vikings. Hiccup cleared his threat and clarified.

"Fine, but if anyone hurts the dragons or Aurora, I will NOT be held accountable for my actions. Whatever I do will be well-deserved." He threatened, glaring pointedly at his father, Spitelout, Gobber and the young warriors that were still unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the answer was four  
> i regret finding out
> 
> Let me know what you thought of the chapter!


	16. Gothi Is A Legend And Someone Finally Gets It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epic tunes include Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) and Rich Life (OneRepublic)
> 
> Look its my beta! --> (◕ ˬ ◕✿)

Hiccup and Toothless watched over their sisters as Gothi tended to them. After no small amount of villagers disagreeing with the elder and her hitting several with her staff, Stoick had finally ordered them to behave and help them get the dragon and the girl to his hut. No one would help, but they did stay out of the group's way. Not that they needed much help, as soon as Astra was fully awake she-with Hiccup and Toothless's assistance- got Aurora on her back and followed the Chief to his home and up the stairs to Hiccup's old room. Hiccup helped Gothi settle his sister on the bed- he refused to allow anyone but the dragons, himself or the elder near her- and Toothless nudged his sister in reassurance. Gothi bandaged Aurora first, knowing that Astra would not be able to sit still until she was sure that her rider was going to be alright. Gothi diagnosed a broken right arm, some grazes, and a possible minor concussion- not as bad as it could have been. She communicated through her runes again- as Hiccup could read them, the boy released a breath of relief when he heard Aurora would be alright.

 _"She is going to be fine,"_ the dragons trilled in joy _, "Probably pissed when she wakes up and not fully with it for awhile but okay."_ Gothi smiled at the boy's words, finding it endearing how much he cared, she scratched under Heller's chin- relishing in the small amount of heat he provided that eased her aching shoulders- he trilled in response.

She turned her attention to the Star Fury, approaching her carefully.

 _"Astra, this is my hatchling- many call her Gothi."_ Heller introduced.

 _"Does she understand me?"_ Her answer came from Gothi, in the form of a nod _. "Hello, Gothi, I am Astra, Heller has told me you saw to my sister's injuries before. For that, I am indebted to you, my sister is everything to me, thank you."_ Astra bowed her head, wincing as her wing twinged.

Gobber and Stoick watched all of this from the doorway. They observed as Gothi shook her head and carefully took the wing without fear, splinting it with gentle but firm movements. She worked swiftly and precisely, her practiced hands flying over bandages and the wooden planks that she used as splints. They departed downstairs when the figure standing vigil by the side of what was once his bed, shot them a threatening and irritated look.

He returned to watching his sister as she slept in silence. He almost missed the harsh sound of a disused voice.

 _"I thought they'd never leave,"_ Hiccup turned towards the sound, beyond surprised that it was Gothi, and in dragonese, _"You owe me nothing, Sister-Astra, it is my pleasure and duty. I only wish it was not necessary."_ The elder turned to Hiccup, a melancholy and sympathetic smile on her face _. "Your sisters will be alright, they simply have to rest. Astra's wing is fractured, so she'll be grounded for around three weeks, and shouldn't fly too far or fast for an extra week or so."_

 _"You-you're t-talking."_ Hiccup stuttered, eyes wide. The two large dragons regarded the woman with surprise, Heller rolled his eyes in amusement.

 _"Yes, I suppose I am."_ Gothi whispered with a twinkle in her eyes.

 _"I-in dra-dragonese."_ The boy said rather obviously.

 _"You sound surprised."_ She smirked.

 _"How long?"_ Hiccup questioned.

 _"How long have I known the truths about dragons?"_ Hiccup nodded _, "A long, long time. Longer than you."_

_"Why didn't you say anything?"_

_"The time was not right. The fates forbade me until now."_ She responded, reproachfully, almost ashamed _, "I –"_

 _"Don't,"_ Hiccup said gently _, "Don't apologise for something that isn't your fault."_

 _"But you were treated horrendously your whole life here, child. How can you harbour no resentment?"_ She protested.

 _"I hold a grudge, Gothi. But I do not hold one against you, you were one of the few who was fair to me, who was kind. I could never resent the one who always patched me up when I was clumsy. You taught me most of what I know today, I could never hate you."_ He reasoned.

_"You were always a good person, Hiccup. The world has been cruel to you, and yet you still remain so. I wish the world was kinder to you."_

_"It was not to be, Gothi. Besides, the world has not been so unkind. I have Toothless, Aurora and Astra, to say nothing of many other friends and allies. My life has become so much more than it would have been if I had stayed here."_

Gothi nodded, and they sat in silence for awhile. Soon the dragons drifted to sleep, the day had been long and exhausting; Hiccup stifled a yawn. Gothi noticed.

 _"Sleep,"_ She whispered _, "You need to rest too, I will stay here and watch over you, no one will disturb you if I am here. They happen to fear me."_ She was joking about the last part, but the villagers did know better than to cross her.

 _"Thank you, Gothi. For everything."_ Hiccup whispered quietly, tip-toeing to Toothless and lying against him. The dragon curled around his hatchling and moved his wing to cover the boy like a blanket; the room was filled with the steady, quiet breaths of boy and dragon. Gothi settled herself further into her wicker chair, Heller resting on her shoulders and snuggling closer in his slumber, she watched the girl sleep- the Star Fury curled around the bed and her uninjured wing placed gently over her sister. Gothi glanced through the gloom, surveying the dragons and their riders, the woman muttered things long forgotten under her breath- things that her ancestors had chanted in the hope of them protecting and healing those who needed it, she remained watching long into the night- as she had promised- and did not leave until Hiccup had woken once again.

She did not need as much sleep as one might think- being bonded to a dragon had certain perks for both parties- and as Heller slept, she too had rested through their bond.

The next morning Gothi left to get everyone some breakfast, she and Heller went fishing. While they were out, Hiccup and Toothless had a discussion about what to do next.

 _"I think you should go back home and tell the others what's going on, you can send Fyredart to tell Caldera—"_ Toothless cut him off then.

_"Hel no, I'm not leaving you here while both Aurora and Astra are out-of-action! I don't trust these dumbass Berkians."_

_"Toothless, please! We have to tell the others what's going on or they will freak out!"_ Hiccup argued.

_"I'm not gonna leave you here."_

_"You have to! I can't get there and someone has to watch Aurora and Astra, other than Gothi and Heller or when Aurora wakes up she might go on a rampage and murder everyone."_ Hiccup groaned.

_"First of all, that is all the more reason I should stay, I can restrain Astra while you deal with Aurora. Second of all, these people are assholes and I would have no problem with Aurora taking them down a few pegs."_

_"What happens when the others panic and come looking for us?"_

_"If that happens, we can burn that bridge when we come to it."_ Toothless responded. Hiccup face palmed, cursed in dragonese, and hit the wall with his head several times.

 _"You're more stubborn than the Vikings."_ Hiccup muttered.

 _"Bold of you to assume you were ever going to win this argument when I had such good points."_ Toothless responded.

 _"Gods,"_ he ran a hand through his hair _, "I really hope that this yak dung doesn't hit the fan."_

After that wonderful mental image, Gothi returned with fish and an excited Heller, who became less excited when he realised Astra wasn't yet awake. Heller trilled lowly, saddened by this knowledge. Gothi took a moment to reassure him that she would wake soon, and that she was simply exhausted from the events of the last few days. She would wake when she was ready, not until.


	17. First Impressions? I Have Some Suggestions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (◕ ˬ ◕✿) --> She says hii

The way one is perceived by the world is everything. If the world believes that someone is a fool, that someone is underestimated, brushed off as unimportant or useless. In some ways this can be a hinderance, in other ways; an asset. You could say that the fool, or joker, is the most powerful card in the deck- they can be anything.

Hiccup had always been considered a fool, of sorts, what with being utterly useless with all things Viking- this allowed him to exist under the radar, and become something amazing; a dragon rider.

Tuffnut had always been disregarded, ever the joker. While he and his sister were jokers, they were much more. He was very observant, and she was incredibly skilled in formulating plans.

For example, his observations allowed him to see Hiccup for what he was, a protector. The boy had been holding back in the fight the previous night, he hadn't wanted to injure anyone. Hiccup had only started really fighting when the girl- Aurora, was it?- had been threatened.

Tuffnut wasn't the village idiot he pretended to be, he was smarter than Snotlout- not that such an achievement was difficult-but not as book smart as Fishlegs, he was more inclined towards the survival and practical types of intelligence than dragon trivia.

He was curious about how Hiccup had spent the past years and about his unusual companions, but he knew in his gut that the boy would not be welcoming any questions about such things any time soon. Tuffnut has seen how the dragon riders had fought together- it was exactly how he and his sister did, it was clear- at least to the twins- that they were brother and sister. An inseparable duo not unlike themselves.

The twins didn't mention this to anyone in the village, knowing they wouldn't be taken seriously. Besides, it was incredibly entertaining to listen as people whispered about the idea of the dragon riders being lovers, especially when Astrid heard the rumours and took out her anger on Snotlout. Poor Snotlout didn't understand why he was being attacked, he'd stopped being super obnoxious and obsessed with Astrid years ago, he was almost bearable now. He was still a little up his own- ooh look, a pancake!- but considerably less egotistical. The twins were looking forward to everyone's faces when they found out the truth, it was going to be hilarious.  
  


When Astra woke up, she glanced around the room, taking everything in. She noticed Toothless and Hiccup were still asleep, Gothi was watching everyone with Heller asleep across her shoulders and a kindly smile on her face. Aurora- her sister- was still unconscious, but her breathing was steady and even, she may have simply been asleep. Astra trilled quietly in delight- her rider was going to be okay!

She heard a low chuckle, and turned her head towards Gothi, whose eyes crinkled along the worn lines of her face as she laughed. The sound was pretty, childlike with glee, but quiet enough not to wake anyone- the laughter bubbled from her like water from a brook, as though it had been contained and restrained for too long. Astra snorted playfully, as though annoyed, with a pouting expression on her face and rolling her eyes.  
  


Astrid struck the tree with her axe, deja-vu transporting her to a similar event five years earlier, the only difference being that she was older and more experienced- and that feelings of relief and regret were mingling with the rage that she was so used to. Another emotion was present also, one that was foreign and had surfaced when she had heard a rumour about a certain auburn-haired dragon rider and his female companion who Astrid wanted to murder- or perhaps maim, she couldn't decide which would give her more satisfaction. Unfortunately the village elder and only healer had informed everyone that they were not to be harmed, and everyone was obeying because- let's face it- Gothi was terrifying. Astrid was even more furious that her friends weren't willing to assist her in maiming and/or killing Hiccup, she was really hoping they'd be up for it. As her friends were such cowards, she would have to wait for him to leave the village- or at least the Chief's hut- before she could jump him, demand answers and possibly maim and/or kill him. She couldn't wait.  
  


Hiccup awoke to chuckles and blinked blearily in the unexpected darkness. A low grumble sounded from behind him, and he turned his head to see two sleep-filled, somewhat irritated luminous eyes staring back at him. The grumble sounded as groggy as the boy was feeling, and he almost laughed as the wings sheltering him from the dawn's light lazily retracted, before flopping onto the floor- surprisingly quietly- as his draconic companion dozed off again. _I'll never understand how he does that so quickly._

Hiccup clambered- clumsily but quietly- over the dozing dragon's leathery wings, not realising that the giggles were now focused on him stumbling over Toothless' wings in an effort to not disturb his "bud". An image that, I'm sure, you're laughing at as it repeats in your mind; I certainly am. He eventually noticed and laughed sarcastically- of course- he was not offended, it was all in good fun and he had experienced worse situations. He rolled his eyes.

 _"Yeah, lets all laugh at the poor, one-legged stumbling dragon rider who's trying not to wake his very-not-a-morning-dragon at dawn. You guys are no help."_ At this, Astra snorted and waved her injured wing, gesturing to Aurora with her uninjured one and wincing at her foolish choice to move her bad one. Gothi shook her head and sighed, glaring at Astra and Hiccup playfully but with a hint of severity. Astra made an innocent _I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about_ face and Hiccup scratched the back of his neck nervously with a beet red face.

 _"Heh-heh, I guess you have a pretty good excuse."_ Gothi rolled her eyes, seemingly debating whether to hit him upside the head with her staff or not.

Then Stoick walked in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think!


	18. Stoick, You Really Let Yourself Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you (◕ ˬ ◕✿)!

Now that Hiccup wasn't in a fight-or-flight situation, he was able to notice more about the Chief's appearance. Stoick looked older, he seemed exhausted, as though simply existing as he did was too much. The room froze, the dragons edging closer to their respective partners, and Gothi glaring daggers at Stoick. Hiccup held his silent and somewhat hostile gaze on the Chief for several minutes, before the heels of his hands began to ache, his nails leaving crescent-shaped impressions in the skin and almost drawing blood. He forced them to relax, maintaining his gaze- he would not be the first one to look away, that was an admission of defeat with dragons, a surrender to the more superior.

Stoick looked away first, finding Hiccup incredibly unnerving. Hiccup cleared his throat, his dark eyes flashing- what happened to my son's bright eyes?- as he inclined his head as if to say what? The boy's arms were crossed and he stood up straight, his eyes dissecting the squirming Chief as he tried to figure out what to say.

"Well, Chief Stoick? How may I help you?" Hiccup spat as politely as possible, somehow the added politeness made the words sharper and more venomous. Stoick smothered the part of him that winced at the word Chief. Not Dad, not even Father, Chief.

"Your presence has been requested at noon in Mead Hall, for a council meeting." Hiccup almost scoffed at the formalities.

"And why is my 'presence requested'?" The scoff was barely noticeable, but Toothless had to stifle a snort.

"The Council of Berk is invoking the right to questioning. We wish to know more about you- and whether your being here is a threat." He muttered the last part, as though ashamed, but Hiccup's dragon-trained ears heard every word.

"Very well, I will be there at noon." The statement had a sense of finality to it that made Stoick realise he was being dismissed. He left and it took until he got outside his front door to realise he should be offended. He was, however, too afraid of his son to go confront him, so he headed into town to try to take his mind off of the fact that he- Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk- was afraid of a boy who was a mere 20 years old and who had been known as Hiccup the Useless.

In fairness to Stoick, Hiccup had become an incredible fighter and leader, so it's not so unexpected that he was feared. Oh, and he had dragons that did his bidding.  
  


Hiccup waited until the Chief had left the house before he released the breath he hadn't known he was holding. He sighed, knowing he only had an hour before the meeting. Toothless crooned, nuzzling his rider.

 _"At least he is definitely unsettled by you,"_ at this Astra laughed, her brother shot her a glare _\- shut up-_ before continuing _, "That came out wrong. My point is, he's thrown off, he is going to make some very stupid mistakes, as is the rest of Berk- you can use that to your advantage."_

 _"Why does this pep talk sound like I'm about to go and fight someone?"_ Hiccup asked.

_"Because, in all the time I've known you, this sort of thing has always ended in a fight."_

_"This sort of thing? What is that supposed to mean?"_

_"You know, when you find a possible ally and you try and talk them around to your side and you always end up have to prove yourself in battle or whatever."_

_"You mean diplomacy?"_ Astra supplied.

_"Yeah, that."_

_"My dragon the wordsmith,"_ Hiccup muttered _, "How are we even gonna do this? We can't leave Astra to watch Aurora alone!"_

 _"Yeah, I'd stay with you but someone might try something and I'm a little more threatening than Hiccup here."_ Toothless pointed out.

 _"Hey—yeah, no I can't argue with that."_ Hiccup agreed.

 _"Hey! I could destroy anyone who came in that door!"_ Astra protested.

_"Yes, 'could', as in you could when you weren't injured, at the moment you could probably take on about 15 Vikings before you'd be completely overwhelmed. And that's just covering yourself, you'd be defending Aurora as well, you can't watch her alone."_

_"I will stay with them!"_ Heller squeaked _, "I can help defend or go get you if Astra needs me to, not that she would."_

 _"Thank you Heller."_ Astra whispered to him.

 _"Excellent,"_ Gothi announced _, "Now, we should head to the meeting, I want to get a good seat. And I need to make sure it's near a good patch of dirt for me to write."_

 _"I'm assuming you don't want anyone to know you aren't as mute as they think?"_ Hiccup questioned.

_"You are correct."_

_"Okay, why?"_

_"Have you ever watched Gobber trying to decipher them?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Then do I really need to answer that?"_

Hiccup snorted _, "No, I guess not, it is funny."_

 _"You two be careful, come get us if there's ANY trouble, I don't care if you think you can handle it or not, come get us."_ Toothless warned Astra and Heller.  
  


With that, Toothless, Hiccup and Gothi headed to the meeting; Hiccup plotting the whole way. They kept to quiet backstreets as much as they could, avoiding as much human interaction as possible. They arrived fifteen minutes early, and while Gothi made herself comfortable, Hiccup and Toothless decided to terrify the Vikings. Toothless leapt at the wall, using it and the other walls to propel himself to a spot that was shrouded in shadows. Hiccup simply slunk into the darkest part of the room that he could find, a corner behind the doors where his Night Fury scaled armour helped camouflage him- he became practically invisible. They found perfect positions just in time, as the doors flew open to admit most of the council, who entered chatting about all sorts of things, Hiccup heard something about bad weather and food shortages, and something about allies going silent. He smirked and filed this information away for later. Once the present council members had sat down, the doors boomed open again, this time for the only two missing council members- Stoick and Gobber- Hiccup almost laughed there and then, nothing had changed, not even the people on the council.

About ten minutes had passed before someone said anything.

"Where is he? It's past noon!" Someone yelled, before everyone else started muttering to each other. Hiccup got bored after about thirty seconds of this and then did a dragon roar, which had the wonderful side effect of shutting everyone up. Then he emerged from the shadows, all his armour positioned perfectly to make him seem more quietly lethal than before. He smirked in the silence at their gobsmacked faces, then he spoke clearly, commanding their attention in a steady tone. He was not the Hiccup they used to see him as.

"Actually, I was here thirty minutes ago."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	19. Council Meetings Are Better With Hiccup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want coffee but I cba to move.
> 
> Thanks for checking this one (◕ ˬ ◕✿)!

The silence was deafening, and Hiccup had to try very hard not to laugh at their hilarious, somewhat startled, faces. Despite his best efforts, he still cracked a smile and was incredibly grateful he had worn his mask, or they would have known.

The silence quickly became less entertaining. "I do hope that I have been called here for more than just a staring contest with the Berkian Council?" He remarked rather boredly, just barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes. He did not want to be here, he wanted to be by his sister's bedside, watching so that he knew she was safe.

Mildew sputtered at his directness, Gothi smirked. Gobber held back his laughter, biting his lip, this was definitely Hiccup. Toothless nearly fell off his rafter with the effort it was taking him not to laugh. Hiccup sent a quick glare at him, which only made it harder for the dragon to balance.

Stoick cleared his throat. "We have called you here to question you."

"Question me? And about what would you be questioning me?" His voice was low, a warning. Dragons would have realised the mistake and taken a step back at this point, possibly turning tail and fleeing, Hiccup didn't like talking about his past. Unfortunately, Vikings were not nearly as perceptive, so did not take notice of the slight tightening of Hiccup's voice; or how his fists had clenched; or how he had shifted his position so that he could easily spring and attack. Toothless noticed, and silently cursed, before praying to the Gods that his rider wouldn't do anything _too_ stupid.

Gothi rolled her eyes in irritation, foolish oafs. She whacked Gobber with her staff, eliciting a yell from the blacksmith, and scratched runes into the dirt at their feet.

"Gothi says we're on thin ice," He translated, "What does tha' mean?!"

"If I may offer some clarity?" Hiccup questioned, before continuing regardless, "I believe it means you should tread carefully, and I cannot help but agree."

"We're in charge here, boy!" Mildew the Unpleasant interjected, unpleasantly, "We have every right to ask anyone any questions if we think they're trouble!"

"You have every right to ask questions, that much is accurate," Hiccup agreed, "And any Viking is required by law to answer them truthfully—"

"We know our own laws, boy!" Mildew spat, before Stoick took charge.

"Where have you been these past five years? Why did you let Berk believe you were dead?"

"I wasn't finished speaking, actually," Hiccup announced, "I was going to inform you that I do not need to answer any of your questions, and save you all some time." He almost said and protect your gigantic egos, but got the sense that it would not have been well-received.

"What are you talking about, lad?" Gobber asked.

"I'm not a Viking, that law only applies to Vikings."

Stoick would have been impressed if he were less infuriated that his son was backsassing the Council of Elders. The hall filled with angry yelling and some villagers surged towards the boy, before Hiccup appeared to facepalm and possibly roll his eyes, then the dragon rider unleashed a dragon call that was answered within seconds, and a shadow dropped from the ceiling. Said shadow landed heavily, kicking up a storm of dust upon contact with the floor, baring its teeth and spreading its wings threateningly at the oncoming Vikings- who either fainted on the spot or sprinted away screaming. When the threats seemed to have dispersed, the Night Fury lowered its wings slightly and curled its tail around the boy, both glaring at the assembled Vikings.

 _"Dumbasses,"_ Hiccup grumbled, "We will be leaving now as we have nothing more to contribute, goodbye." With that they turned around and strolled out the doors, side-by-side, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. When the doors slammed behind them, the yelling started again and Gothi inwardly groaned, this was going to be a long and dull rest of the meeting.  
  
  
  


In the town centre, the young warriors waited anxiously for news of what Berk would do next.

The twins were setting pranks- living up to their whole Follower-of-Loki thing, but the mischief was not up to their usual standards, they were too distracted by recent events.

The husky, book-smart boy was attempting to read a book about remedies, but found he was unable to concentrate, his mind elsewhere.

The Jorgenson paced, fiddling with his bludgeon, wondering just how much his cousin had changed.

Many watched the Valkyrie, her face unreadable as she stared down the doors of the hall, a myriad of emotions swirling like a winter storm in her eyes, visible only if you didn't crumble to dust beneath the force of her stare. Her eyes were the only part of her that showed such conflicted thoughts and feelings, as anyone who knew her knew she often throttled her axe handle like it was her worst enemy's neck.

The teens of Hiccup's past stayed there for as long as it took for him to emerge from the hall that had fallen to chaos. Astrid watched carefully, noting that the rider appeared to be headed for the forest, before she slunk after him. She was unworried about the others following her, they knew better than to try such foolish things.  
  


She stepped where he stepped, utilising her dragon tracking training to remain stealthy but continue following at a distance. She was beyond surprised when the trail disappeared, and jumped when a deep voice sounded from behind her.

"Some things never change, do they?" Hiccup reclined on a branch that- despite its width- held his weight, "How have you been, Astrid?"

The shield maiden was far too stunned to reply, instead electing to send a glare at the man in the tree that would have made Stoick the Vast soil himself. Unfortunately for her, Hiccup had grown and trained with dragons for the last five years, he didn't even blink, meeting her gaze with one of disinterest and slight humour. Her cheeks flamed and she tore her eyes away, still fuming, muttering some reply.

"Shut up." She didn't realise how good Hiccup's hearing had become.

"Rude, I was only trying to be polite. You followed me, after all. The least you could do to make up for it is be civil." Hiccup stated, Astrid clenched her fist and set her jaw in agitation.

"You disappear for five years and then you ask how I've been?!"

"I was trying to make conversation with my stalker, not a lot of people would do that."

"I was not stalking you!"

"Sure, whatever. I'm sure you have lots planned with interrogating and 'not-stalking' me but I happen to be rather busy, so I will take my leave."

She hated his phoney, annoying, adorable polite tone. _Aaaahhhgggg!_

"If you're so busy, why did you go into the woods?!"

"Because I wanted to see if anything had changed here."

"And?"

"There are more mutilated trees- I assume that was your doing." She flushed at that, he smirked in response, "Other than that, the path to the cove isn't as overgrown as I expected." She knew that, she also knew the reason, she had been going there since he died- _no, he left_ \- determined not to forget him. A thought struck her.

"How could you have been to the cove? I was following you the whole time!"

"So you were stalking me! I knew it!" He waved off her spluttering of excuses, choosing to continue, "I went there when you guys first shot Astra down- the cove seemed to be in decent shape too, I'm glad the twins haven't blown up Berk yet."

"Who's Astra? You said the girl was called Aurora?"

"Astra is the dragon Aurora rides. Like I ride Toothless?"

"You called a Night Fury Toothless? That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard- and I've had multiple conversations with the twins when they were wasted or had eel pox."

"Well Toothless doesn't have a problem with it."

"Where is your pet dragon anyway?" She scoffed, as if a _pet dragon_ was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard.

"He isn't a pet, he's my friend. And he's hunting somewhere around."

"You let a dragon go hunting near Berk?! You've doomed us all!"

"Relax, dragons only eat fish, Berk will be fine. Besides, he's hunting in the forest, he's probably gone to a river or a lake or something."

"Then why did they always take our sheep, and yaks, and families?!" Astrid demanded, furious.

"That's... a long story." Hiccup sighed, "Look, I promise I'll explain it to you. But I need to get Toothless and check on Aurora and Astra. So, can we please do this later?"

"Fine," Astrid said, Hiccup sighed in relief, before she continued, "But I'm not leaving your side until you explain what you've been doing for the last five years, and what's going on right now because I know something is going on!"

"Oh, Gods. Fine." He muttered, facepalming, he knew it was pointless to argue. He took a deep breath and headed in the direction of his dragon, Astrid following close behind with a glare that made Stoick the Vast shudder. Hiccup cursed in dragonese every step of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?


	20. Talking With Your Stalker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kapitel tyve! I can't believe it either!
> 
> "Hey, hey (◕ ˬ ◕✿)!"  
> "Yeah bro?"  
> "Thank uuuuu!!!"  
> "(///ˬ///✿)"
> 
> {basically she's the best and adorable}

Heller was bored, so bored- in fact- that he had started counting floorboards. Aurora was still unconscious, and Sister-Astra had yet to break from her silent Virgil at her bedside- bedside is a general term, her head lay atop the human and her tail curled around the frame, one wing rested comfortably against her side as she watched her hatchling sleep; while the splinted and injured one lay on the bed like a blanket over the girl. Heller couldn't wait for Gothi to return, he missed her when she wasn't around and knew that she would insist that Astra eat something.

He was worried for the two of them, they needed each other, he could tell. He prayed to any Gods that would listen- let them be alright.

It sounds strange, that this little dragon would pray so hard for people that he just met, but that was his way- he went with his gut. He had a feeling about them, that they were destined for something amazing; how right he was.  
  
  
  


Toothless was a dragon of many talents, ironically, subtlety was not one of them.

After he had caught enough fish- read 300 fishes- he waited for Hiccup to arrive and help him pack them into his saddlebags. Naturally he tasted them to make sure they were safe. When Hiccup finally showed up, he was accompanied by a young, blonde Viking that Toothless glared at- she glared in reply, but he could sense her fear. He was going to stalk forward a little, figuring it would be entertaining to see her run in terror, but Hiccup raised his eyebrows in his signature _I-know-what-you're-thinking-and-don't-do-it-bud_ stare. Toothless huffed, but did not stop watching the warrior who Hiccup had stepped in front of.

_"She's not gonna kill you, don't worry bud."_

_"She is the one who should be worried."_ Toothless pouted, upset that he wasn't allowed to scare the girl even a little bit.

_"Don't make that face, maybe you can threaten someone later- we'll see. You already terrified the entire Berkian Council, I don't need them more on my back than they're already gonna be."_

_"Fine,"_ Toothless relented, _"Only because you asked me, I'd kill them otherwise."_

 _"Yes, yes. You're a big, bad Night Fury, the Offspring of Lightning and Death itself- Scourge of Vikings and Dragon Trappers."_ Hiccup rolled his eyes.

 _"You bet your ass I am!"_ Toothless stated proudly, puffing out his chest. Hiccup facepalmed, again.

"What the Hel just happened, Haddock?!" Astrid demanded. Hiccup cursed in dragonese, now he had to try and explain this to Astrid.

"Well, um..." Hiccup tried, avoiding her glare.

"I'm waiting."

"I told you it was a long story, right?" Hiccup asked helplessly, shooting glances of _help-bud-she's-gonna-kill-me_ at Toothless, who simply glanced between the two with the most smug look on his face. The dragon did his best impression of wiggling his eyebrows and smirked.

"Answer me, Haddock. Or I will do something you'll regret."

"Oh Gods, I-I can u-um _speak dragonese?"_ He didn't realise he had trailed off into clicks and trills at the end.

"What was that?!"

"I just told you!"

"You said 'I can um' and then started growling!" Astrid stated, brandishing her axe

"Oops," Hiccup winced, "What I meant to say was 'I can speak dragonese'."

"What the Hel is 'dragonese'?"

"Their language?" He answered carefully, "Its not like they roar and growl for the Hel of it, every sound has a meaning."  
  
  
  


Gothi rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time, or what she thought was the umpteenth, she'd lost count. The Council was still arguing and it was only a matter of time before she would have to fake-curse someone to get them to shut up. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, choosing the 'curse' she was going to cast. She had just decided to cast the one that had given 'Hamish the Hairless' his name when Stoick's voice boomed across the hall.

"ENOUGH! We cannot detain him, he has proclaimed that he is not a Viking. Our laws don't apply, and- if his little speech wasn't clear enough- I can assure you he knows tha'!"

"Yea', and even so, he knows all our laws, and he hasn't broken one of 'em. Tha' boy always paid attention to all the different laws of different tribes, he'll abide by our laws fer as long as he stays 'ere." Gobber added.

No one pointed out that Hiccup would almost certainly bend them however he wanted to, and definitely get away with it. The boy was smart, there was no doubt about that, and no one was going to disagree with someone who had any dragon- especially a Night Fury- backing them up.

Gothi was overjoyed that the buffoons had finally worked it out.

She knew that the meeting would soon be over, she was unsurprised that her- not really- treasonous acts hadn't been brought up. They were well aware of just how screwed they would all be if they tried to punish her.

As soon as the meeting had ended, she left- heading to the Chief's hut to check on her patients, no one dared to follow her.  
  
  
  


Astrid was beyond confused, and still coming to terms with her newfound information when Hiccup started walking towards the village through the forest.

"What?!" She yelled at Hiccup's back.

You have to give the guy some credit, he barely flinched. He seemed more irritated and annoyed than scared.

"It's exactly like I said." He called back at her.

"B-but, that's ridiculous!" Was she stuttering? She never _stuttered!_ But, she'd also never discovered that the creatures she had hunted were intelligent.

"If you don't stop trying to reason with yourself that dragons 'have to be savage', or whatever, I won't explain what I've been doing the last five years." Astrid shut up after that.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until, "I assume you still talk to the others?"

"What?"

"The others? Y'know; my cousin, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut?"

"Yes, we still talk," her brow furrowed, "Why do you ask?"

"I was gonna suggest you get them to come listen to what I've been doing, so they don't hound me about it, and I don't have to tell it more than once?"

"You're actually willing to tell us?"

"Not really, but if I don't I may have to kill whoever decides to annoy me with their question."

"Why are you talking about murder so calmly?

"Wow, never thought I'd hear that from you."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, nothing, just that you used to threaten to murder me about seventeen times a week. I never thought you'd be against killing," she levelled a blank and somewhat fearful stare at him, "Oh my Gods I was joking, lighten up Astrid."

Okay, _now_ she wanted to kill him a _little_ more.  
  
  
  


The scene was familiar. Dark room, splintering chair, arms forced behind her back and held there by half-frayed ropes. Not that it made a difference, she was empty, her strength directed toward staying alive and not thinking too much about the tracks of scarlet down her arms. She ignored the bite of cold where her clothes- tattered more so now than they were before- were _shredded_ , she could barely feel the chill, not with the coagulation of something that had turned black as it had dried covering much of her bare skin. Her body was bruised, dirty and in a state of pain so severe that she couldn't feel it. Her eyes rested closed, she was too drained in multiple ways to do much else than breathe.

A clatter of bolts and clink of gears shattered the silence, the creak of a door proving that despite the scent of oil, it was not enough. _Nothing_ is ever enough. She never had enough strength to fight back, to escape. Never had enough spirit to plot, or fantasise about the possibility of freedom, slim as it was, _impossible_ as it was.

She didn't look up when the leisurely steps approached her, nor when the door shut. She braced herself, though she knew it was pointless, she flinched. That would be reason enough for punishment, but she couldn't help it. She prayed for the _sweet_ sensation of unconsciousness, the _happy_ feeling of nothingness- it didn't come. A metallic blade flashed in the low light.   
She screamed.  
  
  
  


It echoed everywhere, the scream. Hiccup's whole body jerked, as did Toothless', in response to their sister's screams. A roar, the call of the Star Fury, reached their ears. They wasted no time, Hiccup mounted his dragon and they launched into the sky- sparing no moment to bid Astrid farewell- heading straight for the Chieftain's hut, simultaneously breaking the sound barrier with a large boom in their efforts to get there as fast as humanly, or dragonly, possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?


	21. Awkward Situations With Your "Father" And Mentor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE BACK!  
> I'M SO SORRY I FORGOT I WAS POSTING ON AO3 AS WELL AS WATTPAD!

Astrid was pissed when he took off without a word.

Sure, she heard the screams and could understand him wanting to check it out, but it wasn't like she didn't want to find out too. She didn't consider the implications of the sound, she didn't imagine that it could be the girl he arrived with. Huffing, she stomped back through the forest- headed for the village. She was _SO_ going to murder him.  
  
  
  


Astra was panicking, she had roared for Toothless as soon as Aurora's episode had begun, and had been attempting to soothe the girl- to little avail- since. She could only do so much. She could barely wrap her rider in her soft-scaled wings as it was- with one fractured and splinted- let alone embrace her fully. How desperately she wished she could console her sister, shield her hatchling. But she could do very little with one wing fractured so badly, trying could cripple her- and she knew Aurora would be devastated if she was injured too badly. She wished she could destroy the demons that invaded the girl's mind.

She had no choice but to soothe her rider the best she could until their brothers arrived. Thundering steps advanced up the stairs, breaking through the whimpers her sister emitted as her dreams mutated into dark nightmares and memories. Astra growled in fury.

_"Watch my Sister, Heller. Don't allow any other than our Brothers or your hatchling near her, I shall deal with the intruders."_

The intruders- as Astra had dubbed them- were none other than the Chieftain and the Village Blacksmith. She glared at them in challenge; a deep, menacing growl ripping itself from her throat as her wings- or rather wing- rose and stretched, causing her to appear larger. Both men- though they would never admit this- took several hasty steps backwards before the tell-tale screech of the Night Fury's wings pierced the moment, and Hiccup dropped through the hatch in the roof, followed swiftly by his dragon. Said dragon joined his sister in threatening the Vikings while the boy ran over to his little sister.

Both dragons bore their teeth when the men stepped forward, deep growls echoing. They stepped back again.

_"Astra! I need your help!"_

The dragon turned, seemingly trading places with the Terror she had left guarding her sister. She nuzzled her sister's hand, Hiccup embraced the girl gently, before backing away slightly and grasping her other hand, rubbing circles on the back.

 _"It's fine, you're safe, I'm here."_ Hiccup whispered.

 _"It's over, Aurora, wake up, my Sister. You have to kick some Viking butt!"_ Astra joked.

Aurora stirred; her whimpers ceasing at last, she edged towards her dragon, who responded by laying her head carefully on her rider's stomach. Astra trilled in relief. A moment later the full weight of her head was resting on the girl, who groaned.

 _"Move your head! I'm trying to sleep!"_ She complained, trying to push the Star Fury's large face away, before the weight was lost and her face was suddenly covered in slobber. Her eyes snapped open _"Eew! Astra! That's disgusting! We've talked about this!"_

Astra wagged her tail, a comical sight as her large tail thwacked against a wardrobe and the wall. Hiccup snorted in barely restrained laughter and Toothless released a chuffing laugh while Heller did a celebratory loop-de-loop. The draconic laughter was echoed by Aurora, which unnerved the two Vikings in the doorway immensely.  
  


Gobber cleared his throat, as Stoick was at a loss for words. This interruption was rewarded with no less than six glares, one of which was behind them. Gothi poked them both in the back and they stood either side of the door as she entered, joining the group in and around the bed, her dragon slamming into her and curling over her shoulders.

 _"Where the Hel am I? What is going on?!"_ Aurora asked confusedly.

 _"Let Astra explain,"_ Toothless called _, "You and I need to deal with the, er, riffraff."_

 _"Oh Gods."_ He muttered.

While Toothless escorted- read pushed- the two out of the room, Hiccup hugged his sister quickly, before departing to follow his dragon- closing the door behind them.

 _"Basically we crashed cause the Berkians threw a bola at Toothless and I tried to blast it but wasn't fast enough so got hit and may or may not have fallen out of the sky, again."_ Astra summarised.

 _"Gods, we have all the luck. I assume I've been out for a while?"_ At the dragon's affirmative nod, she continued _, "Okay then, how long and who's the old lady and Terror? Did Hiccup tame another one while I was out?"_

 _"I am not an old lady, my name is Gothi. I am an elder of this village and the healer here."_ The old lady- sorry, Gothi- answered, in _dragonese?!_

_"What in the name of Freja?! She knows dragonese?! What the Hel happened while I was out?!"_

_"It's a long story,"_ Astra started.

 _"I've got time."_ Aurora answered immediately.

So Astra was forced to explain everything from when the bola hit them the first time to now, including who Gothi was and that the Terror was called Heller. The other two chimed in with any parts that Astra missed. As soon as the explanation was over, Aurora groaned in frustration, pressing the heels of her hands into her face.

 _"Why'd I have to break my right arm, I'm like, a billion times worse with a sword in my left hand than my right!"_ The others chuckled, she glared _, "I'm getting up, I'm bored."_

 _"Don't!"_ Astra trilled, wincing as she moved her injured wing _, "You'll just—"_

 _"What's wrong with your wing?"_ Aurora asked her; her companion avoided her gaze, _"Astra Polaris Fairley is your wing injured?!"_

 _"Hehe, may-be?"_ She replied.

 _"Your middle name is Polaris?"_ Heller questioned.

 _"Yes- shut up!"_ Astra hissed back, embarrassed. Her rider slowly got up, using a bedpost for balance.

_"You're injured too- worse than I am if the splint is anything to go by- and you're lecturing me, really?"_

_"You've been unconscious for like two days! Of course I'm worried!"_

_"Fair enough, but I'm fine, really I am, and you had better have been eating while I was out and trying to rest- not just worrying about little old me."_

_"I was, a little."_ She turned her big adorable eyes on her sister _, "I was worried, really worried. You can't be mad at me for forgetting to do a couple things when you were stuck in your head."_

 _"Dam your adorable eyes- you win this round!"_ Astra smirked, but it melted off her face when Aurora returned it _, "But now I'm awake I'm gonna mother you day and night until you're better!"_

 _"Oh Gods, have mercy on me!"_ Astra groaned, while Aurora laughed. The dragon used the distraction to lunge at the girl, lick her face, and plant its large head on her chest.

 _"Astra!"_ Aurora complained, laughing _, "You know that doesn't wash out and that your face is really heavy! In polite company such things are considered rude!"_

Gothi and Heller watched with twinkles in their eyes, as the girl playfully berated the dragon, who was pretending that she didn't understand dragonese.  
  
  
  


Hiccup and Toothless were having a staring contest with Stoick and Gobber, both of whom had lost multiple times already. The dynamic duo were bored and just wanted the other two to ask their questions already, they were getting to the end of their rope.

"Oh my Gods! Just ask whatever it is you want to ask already so I can go check on Aurora!"

Stoick finally spoke.

"Aurora is the girl, yes?"

"No, she's the Terrible Terror, yes she's 'the girl' as you so eloquently put it." His sense of sarcasm was evident, as usual.

"Wha' in the name o' Thor happened in to yu' in the last five years, laddie?!"

Hiccup pondered this for a moment, then answered .

"All you need to know is that I grew up," he spoke softly and slowly, so that no word would be missed. He considered his next words carefully, rising from the bench he had sat on and moving towards his dragon, rubbing the scales on Toothless' nose gently. "I grew up, and learned everything along the way."

He moved towards the stairs, one hand resting on the bannister.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my family." He nodded in goodbye to the men, "Chief, Gobber." Then he left them.

He left them standing at Stoick's dining table and staring at the staircase, reeling from the boy's unspoken but clear message; you are not my family anymore.


	22. Aurora Is Totally Not Dangerous

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. His sisters were going to be okay, and he was going to ignore the whole thing with Stoick and Gobber for as long as he could.

He shook the thoughts away, he wouldn't worry now. He opened his door and snorted loudly, causing one glare and three amused glances to be thrown his way.  
  


He entered, followed by Toothless and shutting the door behind him. He raised an eyebrow at Astra and had to stifle a laugh at the look on Aurora's face.

 _"So, what did I miss?"_ His eyes raked over those present _, "Obviously a lot but what specifically?"_

Aurora rolled her eyes.

_"Doesn't matter. Help me up, will you?"_

_"What's the magic word?"_

Aurora fluttered her eyelashes and answered in the most innocent tone she possessed.

_"Or else."_

_"Okay I'm helping you up! Please don't do whatever it is you're plotting! Toothless please make Astra move?!"_

_"Sis, scoot."_ Toothless said simply.

 _"You ruin my fun."_ Was the response, but Astra relented and moved off her rider _. "You owe me snuggles Sis, you will deliver."_

 _"Yeah, yeah."_ Came the reply as Hiccup helped Aurora up _, "When my arm is better though- it's way too much work otherwise."_

 _"Fine, I will allow it."_ Astra pronounced with satisfaction.

Hiccup hugged his sister suddenly, he held her tightly but remained mindful of her injury.

_"I'm glad you're okay, 'Rora."_

_"I'm glad too, Hic."_ She responded softly.

He held her at arms length, giving her a once-over; she found herself doing the same.

 _"We were worried, that you wouldn't wake up from this one. You need to stop falling into almost-comas or I'm never gonna let you leave Freja Isle again."_ He joked _._

For a moment everything was okay, and although they were on an island that neither had any desire to be on, they felt like it wasn't all bad.  
  


 _"Okay, bored now."_ Aurora announced _, "We had a cute brother-sister bonding moment there but I have a reputation of being a badass to uphold- let's go blow something up!"_

Aurora rubbed her hands together- well, she tried, it wasn't easy with a broken arm- and cackled.

 _"No, we are not blowing anything up!"_ Hiccup shrieked.

 _"Why not?! Let me have my fun!"_ She complained _, "I won't kill anybody! Probably."_

_"Because someone already blew up the prison and the weapons storage when we were rescuing you guys the first time!"_

_"And I'd do it again! They deserved that and much worse!"_ Astra stated proudly.

 _"You mean I missed my favourite kind of destruction?! Vengeful and explosive?! Oh come on! Why didn't you wait for me, Sis?"_ The girl whined.

_"I was really pissed, I wanted to, but the opportunity presented itself and I was filled with rage and, yeah."_

_"Gods, sometimes I forget that you guys are pyromaniacs."_

_"And proud!"_ The girls chorused.

 _"I'm still not sure how the archipelago is still standing when my arsonist sisters could easily blow it up."_ Hiccup pondered.

 _"We do have some semblance of self-control you know."_ Aurora muttered.

 _"Plus it's not as entertaining if everything is burning all at once- you have to savour it."_ Astra observed.

 _"Fair point."_ Aurora conceded.

_"This is why I doubt that you have self-control."_

_"Shut up Hiccup."_ His sisters replied.

Toothless, Heller and Gothi simply laughed.  
  
  
  


Eventually they agreed Aurora could go out for a walk- so long as Hiccup, Toothless and Astra accompanied her.

It was amusing to watch the quartet wander around. Hiccup and Toothless were tense and walked swiftly, Astra was a little uncomfortable- but this soon faded when Aurora started skipping, humming some tune under her breath.

She seemed at ease, and one who didn't know her well might assume she was. But her brothers and sisters knew how uncomfortable she really was, they could see it in how her fists clenched, how her fingers twitched at every sound. Her eyes flickered over everything at once- she was overwhelmed and nervous. All the villagers watched them closely, muttering about the odd group. Aurora stuck close to her sister, unused to such things as markets and large crowds of people.

Whenever she visited a tribe, they were already familiar with the dragon riders, she met with them in small groups- people unnerved her anyway, lots of people was worse. She hid her discomfort well, and knew the others would get them to a less populated area soon, so she continued in her skipping- to act confident is to be confident, someone had told her that- a lifetime ago.  
  


She almost cheered when they began heading towards the forest.

 _"I came by a house last night, told the woman I am staying."_ She sang quietly in dragonese- and the song somehow retained the original tune. She twirled and spun around, leaping over roots that threatened to trip her.

 _" I said to her the moon is bright, and my fiddle's tuned for playing."_ Each note sounded in tandem to her movements- each minute adjustment to her position flowed, bonelessly. He body moved like water, or the wind as it created cyclones of leaves around her. She had been accused of being a magical creature by Hiccup before- her performances were so mesmerising. She smiled and kept humming, closing her eyes and letting the wind guide her, doing what felt right.  
  


If she stayed anywhere- it was always in a forest, where she could listen to the stories the wind carried from everywhere, and where fewer people resided. It was where she felt most at ease. Where nature was a little wild but so much more amazing, thus why she so often camped outside in the woods on her adventures. Some of the tribes had a hut in the forest where she stayed when she visited, others didn't- it made little difference to her, she was happy so long as there were trees she could disappear into.

Her home on Freja Isle was in the forest, a perhaps ten-minute walk from Hiccup's, a five-minute run or fly. She loved it there, she was not so far away that she never saw Hiccup, but she was far enough that she had her own space when she needed it. It was perfect. How she missed it.  
  


 _"Wow,"_ Her brother's voice broke her from her thoughts, and she realised she had been staring into space with a wistful look on her face _. "You seem to get better every time I see you, where'd you learn that song?"_

_"I met a woman far west of our island in one of her land's native forests, she taught me."_

_"I'm glad your arm isn't stopping you from dancing."_ Toothless interjected, breaking the silence before she spaced out.

 _"As am I,"_ she agreed, before adding _, "I hope you know it won't stop me from camping either!"_

 _"Oh it'll stop you alright, at the very least for a week."_ He answered sternly.

_"Two days."_

_"Six days."_

_"Three days?"_ Astra asked hopefully, she too loved camping in the forest.

 _"Five days."_ Was Hiccup's answer.

_"Three and a half?"_

_"Four days, final offer or it's a week and a half."_ Toothless declared.

_"Fine."_

_"Good, now, wanna see the cove where Toothless and I met?"_

_"Oh Hel yes!"_ The girls replied excitedly.  
  


They raced off, not one of the four realising that five people had been watching everything from a distance, and were now coming to terms with the fact that Hiccup's only human companion, was perhaps less human than they thought. The way she had danced could not be natural, such fluent movements could be achieved only by something supernatural, like a faerie, perhaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the new chapter titles? Let me know if I can improve them!


	23. Stoick's Realisation

Stoick watched from afar. He watched the two dragon riders and their companions as they left. His eyes followed them through the village- even as they picked up their pace into the forest. Only once the moss-laden boughs and frostbitten bark overtook his vision could he tear his eyes away.

He recalled moments that were so similar, and yet so different. Moments where he would stand in the same spot, look out the same window. Lost seconds, minutes, hours- where he had watched a boy follow the same path. Wasted seconds, minutes, hours- where he had wished beyond all to see the young man grow, following the same path he had watched him walk throughout his childhood. He had wanted to see his son again- but the man who was walking that old, familiar path, with a girl next to him and a dragon either side of them- he wasn't his son anymore. And it was all the Chief's fault.

He realised, he was not the father Hiccup had deserved, he was the Chief, nothing fond or familiar about him. Stoick was an authority figure to the boy, not the tender; caring father he should have, _could have_ , been. He lost his child, the last reminder of his dear wife, to his negligence- not a dragon. It was his fault, he couldn't, _wouldn't_ deny that truth.  
  


_But maybe the things we lose can be found again._   
  
  
  


When Ruffnut had found Astrid in that forest all those years ago, training as though it was all that mattered anymore, she had quickly realised why it had seemed that way- because it had been all that mattered to her in that moment. That's why she had knocked her brother out, she couldn't let anyone see her friend so broken, not when that friend would never have let anyone see her that way. It simply proved that she had made the right choice when the girl had collapsed into her, her walls finally crumbling. The girl hadn't been the same since.

To Ruffnut, she was more open, and often they would go for walks in the forest alone to talk about this or that, they were closer than before- and for that she was glad. But to others, to others Astrid was more detached, she was careful with her words, unsure, even.

When Ruffnut had seen Astrid come out of the forest after stalking Hiccup, she smiled. She smiled at the spark of joy in Astrid's eyes despite the rage on her face. She almost laughed when Astrid slugged Snotlout's shoulder when he said something stupid so hard he fell over. Naturally, she played it off as love of chaos through following Loki- and shoved her brother over to sell it (perhaps that part _was_ just for fun) convincingly- but in truth she was overjoyed to see even a small part of the old Astrid again.   
  
  
  


Hiccup and his companions left the forest about two hours later. Astrid and the other young warriors were waiting for them.

Once they were sighted by the dragons and their riders, all four tensed. The dragons- and indeed, the girl- emitted low growling sounds, before Hiccup muttered something in a similar fashion and they quieted minutely. They regarded the Berkians with wary, suspicious eyes- the girl's hand wrapped securely around the pommel of a sword at her waist, they hadn't noticed that before, her cloak covered her too well.

The young warriors were closer to Hiccup than they had been since he returned, and took the opportunity to really look at their old...friend? They couldn't see much of the girl with him, so ignored her for the time being.

He had gotten taller, more muscular too it seemed. He was attired in a black-stained leather suit with unusual armoured plates, that appeared to have an odd texture from a distance. Upon closer inspection, the odd texture was composed of row upon row of midnight scales that blended into the coloured hide. His prosthetic leg was very complex-looking, it was Hiccup's creation after all. Wait, _prosthetic?_

"Wow, cool leg!" Tuffnut announced, before his sister punched him in the nose.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third what in the name of Odin happened to your leg?!" Astrid shrieked.

Hiccup chuckled uncomfortably, he was in for it now. His sisters tried to contain their laughter.

"That's kinda a long story..."

"We have time." Astrid grunted with gritted teeth.

Aurora and Astra were full out chortling now, despite his glares. Toothless glared at Astrid, muttering something about how she had finally noticed and sure took her sweet time.

"Why is she laughing?" Asked Snotlout, indicating Aurora.

"Because she thinks it's hilarious that someone is asking about the story behind my leg."

 _"And- ha- that they don't – hehe- already know, you dumbass!"_ Aurora called between snorts of laughter.

 _"Oh my Gods- just- shut up!"_ He retorted, she laughed harder, he flushed.

"What did she say?" Astrid asked, wondering why Hiccup had turned the shade of a tomato.

"Ugh, she also said it's funny that you don't already know why."

_"I also called you a dumbass."_

"Oh my Gods I know but they don't have to!" He realised too late he'd said this in Norse, and sighed at Astrid's raised eyebrows before translating, "She also called me a dumbass, not that that's important."

 _"It's important to me!"_ He rolled his eyes at that.

"Why would we know why you lost a leg?" Fishlegs, inquisitive as ever, questioned.

 _"Wait they really don't know?"_ Astra whispered to her brother.

 _"Nope, we didn't think we'd be exactly welcome here so we never interacted with them."_ Came his reply.

 _"Damn, you guys really did give everything and everyone you knew up."_ She muttered.

"Because I did it while stopping your dragon raids."

"What?!" Ruffnut screeched.

"Can we please talk about this some other time? It's been a really long couple of days. I mean, she just woke up and—" he gestured to Aurora, who cut him off.

_"I did not just wake up! I woke up hours ago! Longer if you count when I was half-conscious!"_

"No one is counting when you were half-conscious."

_"And why not?"_

"Maybe because you weren't aware of anything going on around you and _were screaming?!"_ He had descended into dragonese at the end, knowing she wouldn't want the others to know that was definitely her, not yet.

"Why does she keep doing that when she speaks?" Astrid asked.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup replied.

"She talks the way you were earlier! The- the dragon words!"

"Dragonese?" At Astrid's nod, he continued, "That- that isn't my story to tell, all I can say is that she doesn't speak Norse much because she doesn't like to."

"That's not a reason."

"True, it's part of one. I won't say anymore. I'll tell you guys everything in the cove at noon tomorrow, I can't do it right now. Goodnight."  
  


With that, they left. They headed into the Chieftain's hut and didn't emerge until morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm open to chapter name suggestions because this was not good.


	24. Hiccup Is An Idiot, Again

The day began with the sunrise, as they always do. The riders and their dragons arose and ventured into the forest to capture and prepare themselves breakfast, promising to return soon with some for Gothi and Heller. When they returned- an hour later- Hiccup's face and armour was muddy, and twigs poked from his even-more-bird's-nest-looking hair. He was glaring at Aurora and Astra, while Toothless appeared to be practicing the draconic equivalent of laughter. Hiccup sighed, hefting the basket of fish that remained for the three riders and Terrible Terror, he should have known his sister would "accidentally" knock him into the bushes, at least the mud was mostly dry now- he could brush is off soon enough. Then he would find some way to get his own back.  
  


They cooked the fish with dragon fire and all ate together. Then the two younger riders and their dragons entered the forest again, the Terror deciding to remain with his companion in the village.

Aurora leapt from branch to branch again, chittering childish; girlish giggles. Astra's wing was healed enough that it was no longer splinted at all, as it had been in a half splint. She couldn't yet fly with it, but Gothi expected that she soon would. The dragon followed her hatchling beneath the trees, careful to ensure she was below the girl in case she fell. Her rider continued her parkour over the branches, if you didn't know her- you wouldn't realise she was still injured, she proceeded slower than usual, partially because her arm was still in a sling, and partially because she didn't know these woods as well as the ones on Freja Isle. In reality, it was mostly the latter.

They were already in the cove when the horns sounded. All of them cursed in dragonese, colourfully.  
  
  
  


Astrid awoke at the usual time and got changed, she trained for an hour- as usual- and then had breakfast- as usual. In fact, nothing about the day seemed out of the ordinary, which is why when the war horns blew, she was beyond surprised. It did not get better when a large flock of dragons appeared, and began to circle, nor did it help when she spotted the troupe of ships that were a little too close to the shore and had far too many vessels to come in peace. To be honest, it may have been just a _little_ bit threatening.

Excuse my sarcasm- and the damage to the fourth wall, I'll fix it soon- my readers, it cannot be helped sometimes, especially when one is attempting to convey how terrifying the event of an armada of ships and dragons appearing is. Just as Vikings are beginning to believe that a certain sarcastic, scrawny little not-Viking- who is now muscled and not scrawny, not the time, sorry- may be right about dragons not meaning harm. This was not going to end well.  
  


Perhaps now is a good time to mention that the riders had, over the years, gained a large number of allies around the world- yes its round, deal with it, when Aurora discovered that she wouldn't shut up for weeks- and they had a system for if, say, one was attacked by dragon hunters. This system involved notifying Hiccup and Aurora, informing them of any attacks and whether they needed help to rebuild. Oftentimes, the riders- or one of them if the other was indisposed- would visit the island to help, if that were requested, and to collect any details of said attacks- so they could advise their allies on how they could prepare in case another attack occurred. Unfortunately, the messages were always delivered to either Hiccup or Aurora, and if they happened to be MIA, it worried their allies, add that one of them had been expected on Caldera Cay a few days ago- and hadn't arrived- and all their allies were freaking out.

Hiccup had left instructions for the island's dragons to inform any couriers that he was going to be on Caldera Cay with his sister, however when the rider had traveled there, they discovered that neither he, nor his sister were there, and hadn't been for several months. His sister had been due to visit- but hadn't arrived- this wasn't a red flag, she was often late. The red flag was that Hiccup wasn't there and hadn't sent word that they would be late- which was very un-Hiccup-like.  
  
  
  


At least half the sails bore an unfamiliar crest to the Berkians, the other half looked very familiar. All the ships flew a midnight black flag with a scarlet insignia and trimmed with white from their foremost mast. They advanced slowly, but not so slowly that it was painful to watch. When the largest ship anchored not far from the coast, a smaller- but no less threatening- boat continued to the dock, flanked by two dragons. The two dragons were very different to one another, one being a silver creature with metallic scales and a long neck, and the other being yellow-and-purple with an unusual tail.

The Chief prepared to meet them, along with his brother, the blacksmith and Gothi. The boat docked, and the two dragons circled it from the air. Four people disembarked the vessel. Two women, and two men.

The first woman had long, blonde hair and was dressed in a red shirt with a dark blue vest, she wore a strange-looking set of armour that seemed far too thin to be effective in a real battle. Her hair was braided to the side over her left shoulder. Her sapphire eyes flashed with barely restrained rage, and the small, silver dragon on her shoulders twitched its long tail in its sleep, snorting softly and producing a grey smoke as it awoke. The woman twirled a dagger between her fingers, the blade glinting threateningly, the villagers had a sneaking suspicion she had many more of them.

The second woman had short hair the colour of old parchment, and was dressed in all black robes with golden markings. Her eyes were like storm clouds with threads of blue throughout, her fury was hidden much better, but still visible. Something told the Berkians that they should be afraid. Call them crazy, but they didn't think the way she was throttling the hilt of the sword at her waist was friendly.

Out of the two men, one was rather heavy-set, with a horned helmet resting on his black-brown hair. He was dressed in well-won armour from head to toe. His mouth was set in a sneering frown, as though he had tried to eat willow bark and hadn't expected the bitter taste. His blue eyes were narrowed as if suspicious and he white-knuckled the handle of his axe, which appeared to be made from the same material as the first woman's armour.

The fourth person had flaming red hair, which appeared to be cut haphazardly. Three blue lines were tattooed across his left eye- like a scratch from a dragon. He stood next to the short-haired woman, his emerald eyes wild. He held an axe that was almost identical to the other man's, and he appeared to be searching its surface for scratches and imperfections, while glaring at the assembled Berkians from the corner of his eye. He was dressed in traditional armour and a simplistic tunic.  
  


Stoick addressed the larger man first.

"What are you doing here Alvin? You were banished!"

"You do not ask the questions here, you are in no position to do so. Especially considering you are surrounded by only a small portion of our combined forces and we have many more allies, of whom you are no match for." Answered the black clad woman, very calmly, with a hint of irritation.

"Yes, so make it easy and tell us where you're keeping him!" Shrieked the woman with the dragon, said dragon bristled and growled at the Vikings opposing them.

"Camicazi, we are trying to be diplomatic, you are not helping." The other woman muttered to her, almost facepalming.

"Don't worry, Mala-Pooh, now we can get our answers sooner." The man with the blue tattoo whispered to her.

"Dagur, Butterfly, I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that when we were negotiating with hostile tribes?" She whispered back.

"Sorry, Beloved, I cannot control myself around you sometimes." He breathed in her ear, her cheeks flushed.

"Oh my Gods," Camicazi cursed, facepalming, "Can we please get this over with before I hurl."

"Agreed," Alvin concurred, ignoring the glares from the couple directed at him and Camicazi "Now, where is 'e?!"

"Who?!" Gobber questioned at last, "What is going on? 'An why are Alvin 'an Dagur 'ere? 'An who's that woman? 'An is that Camicazi?!"

"Oh my Gods, you people live under a rock." Camicazi complained.

"Cami, again, we're actually trying to avoid war." Dagur muttered.

"That's rich coming from you, Dagur." Alvin commented, this was met with glares from both Mala and Dagur, and a snort of laughter from Cami.

"My Gods, you people make a Hel of an entrance." Called a very familiar voice.

Hiccup landed on the dock between the two groups, dismounted and waved shyly.

"Hi, he-he?" He looked incredibly uncomfortable, "So I know I didn't—" He was cut short when someone plummeted from the sky and they- a long with Cami- jumped him, one holding a dagger to his throat and the other holding a double bladed battle axe to it. Both women looked furious.

"He-he, um, sorry?" He asked. Toothless hit him in the head with his tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only reason Hiccup is still alive is because Toothless has enough sense for the two of them.


	25. Hiccup's In Trouble, Then He Gets Mad

"Cami, Heather- great to see you!" Hiccup managed to say, speaking carefully so that the very pointy weapons at his throat didn't get any closer.

The hooded girl narrowed her eyes, the green orbs flashing and piercing his soul with blades sharper than the ones pressing against his jugular. Her cloak had moved just enough to reveal that she, too, donned armour of the same strange material of Camicazi's, except hers appeared to be shaped in a way similar to the metallic dragon still circling above. Aside from that, she wore a simple chestnut tunic with darker leggings and mocha boots. Her cloak was so dark it was almost black, and the only weapon visible was the one she was pointing at Hiccup, though she undoubtedly had more.

 _"I am going to cut off your other leg!"_ Heather began, "You stay still!"

 _"Come on Heather, it isn't nice to pick on the amputee, you know that!"_ Came a roar from the other end of the dock.

The assembled Vikings turned to see Aurora dismounting from Astra's back, where she had ridden through the forest. She rubbed the dragon's nose by way of thank you, and faced them with a mischievous grin on her face and one hand on her hip, her other arm still in the sling.

"Aurora!" Cami called, "What happened to your arm?!"

She shrugged, smirking. Her draconic companion rolled her eyes, chuffing a laugh.

"Yes, everybody is fine so can we please put the weapons away or at least stop pointing them at my face?!" Hiccup squeaked. Toothless laughed. _"Shut up Toothless."_

After a few more threats from Camicazi and Heather, and enduring the glares from the girls and amused looks from the others, Hiccup was finally permitted to stand, rather than lay and have several shiny and pointy weapons in his face.

The silence dragged on painfully. They had moved the discussion- read: interrogation of Hiccup as to why in the name of ALL THE GODS DID YOU NOT TELL US WHERE YOU WERE?!- to the Great Hall, it did not make it any less awkward or uncomfortable for Hiccup.

 _"Just say something, the longer you wait, the worse it will be!"_ Aurora sing-songed.

Hiccup put his head in his hands and placed his elbows on the table, groaning, _"Do you have to be so cheery right now?"_

 _"Oh yes, I tried these beans I got down south- you grind them up and dissolve them in hot water- and they make you all zingy and I feel great! I can't remember what they were called but I know they're amazing and my friend from there- Dihna- said she'd never seen me so energetic and_ — _"_

_"Okay, okay, dear Gods you're worse than that time you went East to see Jaya and came back with those white grainy cubes, just stop."_

_"Only if you say something to everyone!"_

_"Fine,"_ Hiccup cleared his throat, and all eyes were suddenly on him, "Well, ahem, it would seem I have a fair amount of explaining to do."

"You bet your ass you do." Heather growled.

"Language Heather! I am sure he will explain!"

"You're one to talk! Your title was going to be Dagur the Dirty-Mouthed!"

"That was a secret!"

"Enough!" Cami yelled, "Mala, control your 'Butterfly'," Mala flushed a deep scarlet, "and Heather sit down and shut up or I will take and hide your knives where you will never find them!"

"You wouldn't!" Camicazi then stuffed her hand in her pocket and withdrew three expertly-crafted throwing knives; at this point they all recalled that she was Camicazi of the Bog-Burglars, and while Heather imitated a fish and Cami stared smugly at her, Alvin steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Explain." He said simply.

"Well, here's the short version. Basically, we were on our way to Mala's, and there was a really bad storm, so we took a detour over Berk- and may or may not have been shot down because they thought we were attacking? He-he?" Hiccup answered.

"And you sent no message because...?" Alvin continued.

"Um, we may have been captured. And Aurora may have been in a state of unconsciousness for several days. And Astra may have broken her wing. And Toothless may have decided that it wasn't safe for me to be left alone with an unconscious Aurora, injured Astra, and myself while he was away in the event of an attack."

"Wow, when things go wrong for you, it's really everything, or nothing, isn't it?" Cami interjected. Very helpfully.

"Well, I assure you it was not our plan." Hiccup groaned, Aurora nodded sympathetically, her teasing smirk morphing into a grimace.

"You didn't consider training a terror to send a message?" Cami raised her eyebrow.

"I was kinda more concerned about 'Rora." Hiccup scratched his neck with a nervous smile, almost snorting upon catching Aurora's infuriated and flushing face at her nickname being used in front of strangers. He was going to have to sleep with one eye open tonight; she was probably going to maim him. Worth it.

 _"Fine, but I- for one- am still mad at you!"_ Heather proclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

Aurora laughed in her face, then leapt as knives started flying at her. She landed in a crouch and giggled before running at her attacker. Then, flipping over a blade in mid-air (and the meeting table) she launched two of her own, pinning Heather to the wall by her cloak in two places.

The girls remained in their stalemate- Aurora smirking evilly, Heather glaring indignantly- until Mala groaned.

 _"Why is it that whenever we have a meeting with you two involved, it always seems to end with someone throwing knives?!"_ She questioned, massaging her forehead and casting her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation.

Her only answer was their smirks and Camicazi's laughter.

 _"I thought you took Heather's knives anyway?"_ She asked Cami.

 _"Well, yeah, but meetings are way more interesting when they get to play with their knives."_ She replied, rocking back in her chair and shooting a satisfied and irritating smirk at everyone else.

The Berkians simply watched these proceedings in confusion.

 _"Oh come on, Mala! We all know you love the knife games. You can't tell me you don't remember that meeting with the traders. You slipped us each a throwing knife and said go nuts!"_ Aurora sniggered. That sent everyone into a bout of laughter- everyone who could speak dragonese, that is.

For those that didn't, well. They were fairly confused.

"Um, wha' jus' 'appened?" Gobber asked.

"Yeah, why are you all laughing? What did she say?" Astrid added.

"What are you talking about, Astrid?" Stoick questioned, "She didn't say anything. She was growling!"

"It's called dragonese, Chief Stoick," Hiccup stated with no emotion, "The language of dragons."

"They 'ave a language?!" Gobber cried.

"Why hasn't she said a word in Norse at all?" Stoick enquired.

The mood went dark. Aurora visibly curled inwards, flicking up the hood of her cloak- she stood up and walked out, followed closely by her dragon, who glared and snarled at the man. Dagur, Heather and Camicazi's anger sparked in their eyes, and they gripped the handles of their weapons tightly. Mala grasped Dagur's other hand whilst she joined Alvin in glaring at Stoick. Hiccup's rage was barely contained, and the dragons present mirrored this.

It was at this point Stoick knew he had _fucked_ up. Like, royally fucked up, he was so screwed it's not even funny. My dear readers- breaking the fourth wall again, I am not gonna apologize, yeah I probably will- you must consider the fact that Hiccup is very protective of his family, and he sees Aurora as a sister. Let me put it this way: I would not want to be Stoick right now.

Clearly, he had crossed a line, and spoken of something that was a big no-no. He became certain of this upon hearing Hiccup's next words, words dripping with such poisonous venom they could have come from a Scauldron.

His tone was harsh, and commanding, "That is NONE of your business."

Hiccup's words were sharp, and forced. His demeanor was threatening, a warning not to pursue him, or the answer. His entire manner seemed to mutate in that instant, and he was suddenly a grown man, a soldier. He appeared to age in that moment, eyes growing cold and distant- he became terrifying.

He stood up and marched out, Toothless on his heels.

"You just dodged a hatchet." Dagur stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big oof Stoick.


	26. Camicazi Plays With Knives And The Twins Make Some New Friends

Once Hiccup had left to cool down, no less than seven glares fixed on the Chief. A blade flew over his head, scratching his helmet and producing sparks, before burying itself in the wall.

"Camicazi!" Heather started, "I was gonna do that!"

"Also, you missed." Mala commented in a growl.

"You cannot attack a Chief!" Stoick cried. Wimp.

"She didn't," Alvin stated gruffly, "Technically, she just threw a knife that happened to land near you."

"You're lucky I have no interest in starting a war right now, Stoick," Dagur warned, "Because otherwise I would end you where you stand."

"Look, obviously my Chief crossed a line- and I think I have an idea of how- but can we please discuss this peacefully? And preferably come to a conclusion that doesn't involve murder or war?" Astrid asked desperately.

"Your Chief," Camicazi spat, somewhat civilly, "Needs to separate what is and isn't his place to comment on."

"For the record, that was NOT." Heather interjected, driving a dagger into the table.

"And he needs to know that it is not his place to question the mannerisms of anyone not of his tribe." Cami continued, gritting her teeth.

Astrid was silent, she wouldn't admit that these people unsettled her, she wouldn't give any indication that she was worried that her Chief would start a war- one they would lose badly if these people were as dangerous as they seemed.  
  


Heather and Camicazi left after that incident- presumably to get more sharp, threatening instruments to throw around the Great Hall- which was probably for the best, as Stoick decided he was going to have an argument, and arguments with Heather and Camicazi tend to end with death threats and injuries. The Berkian Chief brought up the matter of the Berserker-Berkian treaty- this was not going to end well.

"What of our treaty, Dagur?"

"What do you mean, Stoick?"

"You haven't signed it in two years," Stoick started, his voice low and face red, "In fact, we've had no contact with the Berserker Tribe in over two years! We thought you'd sailed off the edge of the world trying to conquer it!"

"First of all, the Beserkers are very much on the world- turns out it's round- we have simply ... relocated." Dagur responded, flushing scarlet and glancing at Mala conspirationally.

"The world is round?! Ridiculous, impossible!" Astrid exclaimed.

"Why did you 'relocate', Dagur?"

"Well—" Dagur was cut off by Alvin, who glanced worriedly at him- only a split second, but enough that Astrid caught it, and knew there was more than what they were willing to share.

"Don't lie, boyo." He smirked, "We all know it was because you couldn't stand to be so far from Mala."

Both Mala and Dagur's faces were redder than tomatoes, and the table grain was suddenly more interesting _\- is that a meat smear?-_ than the conversation.

Astrid knew that wasn't an act, but there was more to why the Berserkers relocated, of that she was certain.  
  
  
  


Aurora was good at covering her tracks. She knew exactly how to hide from people- probably why she had survived as long as she did before she met Astra, and until she met Hiccup and Toothless.

So it was by pure chance that the twins found her, and her focus on other matters- so she ignored her surroundings, rookie mistake- was the only reason she didn't realise they were there when she dropped to the ground.

The twins have always been known for their trickery, rowdiness, and general disregard of rules or conventions of any kind. But nobody realises that there are other aspects to their personalities. They are smarter than they let the world see, their minds work in a different way and they see things that the general populace do not. They are sympathetic, and care much more than they let on.  
  


When they came across her, they had been about to call out in greeting. Then she collapsed to her knees. Her fingers dug into the dirt, grasping for a hold of something, _anything_. Her breath caught in her throat, each following inhale sounding laboured, each exhale shaky. Her head was bowed, her form quivered with the effort of breathing in this way. They watched her crumble. They watched her draconic companion try to console her to no avail. Then they approached.

They acted as though they were approaching a wild dragon, but they went slow, no weapons. They tried not to provide any reason for the dragon to feel as though they were threats, they had seen just how protective the reptile was.

Astra was not happy that they were there, she didn't want these untrusted Vikings near her sister when she was in this state. But she also knew that there were no trusted humans around. She could sense that they had no weapons, so she took the chance. She let them approach, issuing a warning growl.

_"If you hurt her, I will tear you to shreds."_

They understood the meaning, despite not knowing any dragonese.

They knelt either side of Aurora, facing one another. The girl continued to stare at the ground.

"Hey, you're pretty good with a sword." Tuffnut started. No response.

"Yeah, we'll have to spar sometime." Ruffnut tried. The silence was deafening.

"What did your dragon shoot at me? It got me so dizzy," Tuffnut asked, before brightening, "Can they do it again?!"

Aurora looked up confusedly at this, tiredly quirking an eyebrow in an _are-you-serious?_ Ruffnut facepalmed, already plotting to maim her doofus of a brother later.

"Hey! It's a legitimate question!" Tuffnut protested, Ruffnut prepared to throttle him, but was stopped by a weak chuckle.

Aurora snorted, Ruffnut smiled and joined in with gleeful laughter, her brother followed.

"Wait, why are we laughing?" Tuffnut questioned, looking as though someone had just told him dragons didn't breathe fire.

This resulted in another round of laughter.

"I believe it is time we became better acquainted." Ruffnut stated, standing up and offering her hand to Aurora- who took it, "I'm Ruffnut."

"And I, am Tuffnut." Tuffnut announced, pushing his sister to the side and bowing with a solemn look on his face- which almost instantly faded away, replaced by a mischievous grin.

"He's my idiot brother," Ruffnut stage-whispered.

"I resent that!"

"But he isn't so bad once you get to know him." She winked. Aurora chuckled.

"And you are...?" Tuffnut began.

"You know who she is!"

"This is how you get to know people, Ruffnut!" Tuffnut answered, "My apologies, and you are...?"

Aurora considered this for a moment, then smiled nervously- a spark of mischief in her emerald eyes.

"Better pra-prankster... than you-you." Her voice was softer than they expected, each word carefully pronounced despite the way she stumbled over them, "Aurora."

The twins were surprised at her strange accent, and that she spoke at all. They didn't fixate on this, however, as she had claimed she was better at pranks than they were.

"You can't be serious." Their astounded proclamation was answered with the girl's smirk, "Prove it!"  
  


Perhaps it was fate, that the Thorston twins found Aurora instead of somebody else, who can say?

The only thing anyone is sure about is that this encounter was responsible for the pranking spree that ensued in the next few hours, and resulted in Snotlout stuck hanging from the top of the arena cage; three chickens dyed pink and released into the boar pit; and the Destructive Duo becoming the Trio of Terror. Even so, the results of this spree are still debated to this day, as months later more pranks were triggered that had been lying in wait for who-knows-how-long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They will totally cause so much trouble.


	27. How Do You Find Aurora? Listen For The Screams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious feels ahead, you were warned...

Hiccup was looking for his sister on dragonback when he heard screaming. Naturally, they immediately turned on wingtip and sped toward the sound- worried that Aurora was involved somehow.

Well, they weren't exactly wrong.

In all honesty, they should have been expecting this. Their sisters were a little nuts, and the twins lived on this island. The multicoloured stampeding chickens were probably a best-case scenario, _at least nothing was on fire._

_Fwoosh._

_"I had to tempt it; you'd think I would've learned by now."_ Hiccup groaned.

 _"You'd think that, yes."_ Toothless agreed.

_"Let's go do damage control."_

They arrived at an outhouse, which was aflame. A bucket of water appeared from nowhere and dropped over the inferno, pail and all, extinguishing it.

 _"Hiya Hiccup! Hiya Toothless!"_ Called someone cheerily.

The duo glanced up, catching their sisters hovering above the flames. They looked, happy. It seemed arson made everything better.

 _"What in the name of Freja is going ON?!"_ Toothless screeched. 

_"Well, we made a couple friends?"_ Astra offered.

Her brother shrieked again, probably something to do with the fact that he had just noticed the twins standing by the smoking husk of what was an outhouse, and realised that his worst nightmare had come true. Hiccup was suddenly white as a sheet, and Aurora snorted at him.

_"Oh dear Gods I hoped you guys wouldn't meet. The world is doomed."_

_"Hiccup! You mean you knew that there were prankers on my level here and you never told me?!"_

_"I had hoped that if I didn't tell you I could protect the world from Ragnarök, I failed!"_ Hiccup wailed.

 _"You're overreacting."_ Aurora muttered, rolling her eyes, _"Ragnarök will only happen when the roosters tell the Gods, and I'm blackmailing them so they can't."_

_"What?!"_

_"Pu-lease, it isn't hard to blackmail a few roosters."_ At Hiccup's dropped jaw she added, _"Besides, it isn't like they really want Ragnarök to happen either."_

_"Wha-when-how?! When and how did you start doing this?!"_

_"That is classified information that I do not have to provide without a lawyer present."_

"Hey what are you guys talking about?" Tuffnut called up, before his sister whacked him in the head.

"They were arguing! You can't interrupt sibling arguments! It is rude and you know that, think about what we do when someone interrupts us!"

 _"We will discuss the blackmail later- this is not over!"_ Spoiler alert: they did not discuss the blackmail later.

"So, are you gonna fill me in on when you two knuckleheads met my sister?" Hiccup asked hesitantly, after Tuffnut had regained consciousness.

"Oh, about fifteen minutes ago." Tuffnut replied, with the goofiest grin on his face. 

Hiccup facepalmed, "You mean to tell me you have known each other for less than twenty minutes, and already something has blown up?! The archipelago is so screwed, if not the world." He groaned.

Aurora rolled her eyes, _what a drama queen_ , and leapt down from the tree branch she had been perched on with an unusual air of grace. She landed carefully, mindful of her arm still in a sling, and punched Hiccup with her good hand.

 _"Ow! Was that really necessary?!"_ Hiccup asked in exasperation, his only reply was her satisfied smirk. "How did you guys even meet?"

"Well, we found her in the forest, and we started talking to her cause she's pretty good with her sword and everything- oh!- and her dragon's fire makes you all dizzy and it's awesome!" Tuffnut supplied enthusiastically. Ruffnut punched him again, sending him sprawling across the grass, unconscious, again.

"Wh-why did you knock him out, again?" Hiccup asked hesitantly. Ruffnut shrugged.

"W-want-ed to." Aurora responded, sticking her tongue out childishly.

Hiccup turned his head so fast he got dizzy, but he didn't care. He stared at his sister, jaw halfway to the ground.

"Wh-what did you say?" He managed to croak out. Toothless was speechless. Astra watched her hatchling with pride- it definitely wasn't tears in her eyes, just dust. 

Aurora stared back uneasily, suddenly nervous. "Want-ted to." The words were spoken carefully, each syllable in a measured and uncertain tone.

"You-you're talking, Aurora!" Hiccup would not be ashamed to admit that he was crying, the tears were overflowing and he would have it no other way.

 _"Well, yeah, I mean, I'm not a mute?"_ Aurora replied.

 _"You were talking in Norse!"_ Hiccup exclaimed, unable to contain himself any longer.

_"It's only because they can't understand dragonese, you don't have to make a big deal--"_

_"No- I don't,"_ Hiccup started, _"But I will, because I want to. I want to and I am so proud of you that I need to."_

_"C'mon Hiccup, it isn't like I'm even very good at it and--"_

_"No! You are amazing for even being able to be around people who speak Norse, let alone speak it yourself!"_ Hiccup announced, _"We're all so proud of you anyway, but everyone is going to be even more proud now, and we didn't think we could possibly be prouder because you're so awesome already."_

Hiccup embraced his sister with both arms, being careful not to jostle her bad arm. He placed his chin atop her head and smiled as she hugged him back. Warm tears raced down his cheeks, and Aurora made a noise of mock-disgust when she noticed.

_"Euuggghhh! Gross! And you're ruining my street cred! Not cool man! Not cool!"_

Toothless and Astra both chortled at that, along with the way Aurora had scrunched up her face in distaste- it was adorable, they were going to tell everyone and embarrass her, they wished they could capture it forever- and was shaking her good arm as if it were covered in mud and she were trying to get it off.

 _"You are ridiculous!"_ Astra called.

_"I don't appreciate being covered in eye sweat!"_

_"Well, when you call it that it is disgusting."_ Toothless stated, sticking out his tongue in revulsion.

 _"I call it like I see it- and I see it as gross."_ Came Aurora's resolute answer.

"Umm, Hiccup, I'm sure there's a reason you're crying and everything, but could you tell me what it is so I can respond?" Ruffnut interjected, looking more puzzled every passing second.

"I-It's just that something great happened," Hiccup started, choking up a little as tears still sped down his face, "And I think I have to thank you and Tuffnut a little, because this-this is the first--"

He couldn't finish what he was trying to say- partially because he was filled with too many emotions to go on, and partially because he knew it wasn't his tale to tell- nor did he really need to. Ruffnut got it, if her small nod and smile were anything to go by. 

Aurora hugged her brother when he broke down, she consoled him in the same way he had always consoled her. His breakdown was much simpler than hers usually were. It was a natural result of intense stress and worry, coupled with incredible pride and happiness for his sister, it was to be expected that something like this would happen.

Sometime later, when Tuffnut had regained consciousness- again- Hiccup thanked both twins profusely. 

"I don't know how I could ever repay you." He had announced, which caused them to look to each other and then at Aurora- smirking. Hiccup gulped.

"You really owe us nothing..." Ruffnut started.

"...But if you really think you have to repay us..." Tuffnut glanced at Aurora, raising his eyebrows in a silent signal. Go on...

"Dragon!" She finished.

"What?" Hiccup really hoped that didn't mean what he thought it meant.

Rolling her eyes, his sister elaborated in dragonese, _"You should help them train a dragon! Duh!"_

"Oh Gods." He- predictably- groaned, running his hand through his hair. _This totally won't end horribly._


	28. Heather And Camicazi Look For Explosions And General Destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heather and Cami are back!

Heather and Camicazi did not leave to go get more pointy objects- although they obviously stopped at the ship and picked up some weapons anyway- they left to go get their riding dragons and look for Hiccup. Of course they also left to stop themselves from murdering Stoick.

Windshear, Heather's Razorwhip trilled delightedly as soon as she saw her raven-haired rider- clearly thrilled at the prospect of going to do something, anything, instead of staying on the boring ship.

 _"Wake up, wake up!"_ Windshear called to the dragon beside her, 'playfully' shoving them into a wall, _"Camicazi is here too!"_

 _"Wha--shh 'm sleepin'."_ Was the sluggish reply.

Camicazi's dragon- who does not belong to Cami, _we are equals and I belong to nobody Windy, shut up_ \- had scales the shade of daffodils that shone like they were made up of sunbeams- unusual for a Changewing but nobody was stupid enough to say that out loud- when they were clean. They were not often clean as Cami and both her draconic companions had a tendency to get into all sorts of messy situations, politically and physically speaking. He went by Tracer but was often called Trez. The nickname had come from an incident that was the result of too much mead and the absence of a mature adult to reign in the antics of a completely wasted Camicazi and a rather tipsy dragon who both had no common sense when they were sober- few people know the whole, true story, and those that do have been sworn to complete secrecy- on pain of death- but it is believed that it has something to do with hidden treasure and a certain Changewing trying to prove he was a badass.

The Smothering Smokebreath who had remained upon Cami's shoulders for the entire meeting/interrogation fiasco zipped ahead of her trainer, blabbering about several topics at once, none of which pertained to the current situation, her mind running a mile a minute. That was simply Misty's way, as it was it happened to be just what Tracer needed to fully wake up.

_"I-was-just-thinking-and-you-know-what-I-could-go-for-right-now-I-could-go-for-some-cod-I-mean-I've-got-a-real-hankering-for-it-right-now-and-speaking-of-cod-Hiccup-ran-out-of-the-meeting-because-the-Alpha-I-meant-the-Chief-its-so-weird-why-don't-they-just-call-them-the-Alpha-I-mean-that's-what-it-means-anyway-its-so-stupi--"_

She was- _mercifully_ \- cut off by Heather.

_"How do you get Hiccup from cod?"_

_"I-don't-know-I-assume-they'd-have-to-eat-a-lot-really-fast-and-then--"_

_"Misty, not hiccups, **Hiccup**. She means the person."_ Trez groaned, refraining from hitting himself in the face with his wing in exasperation and shooting a glare at the sniggering Camicazi.

 _"Oh,"_ she replied, sounding almost embarrassed before she continued, _"Well-one-of-his-middle-names-is-Haddock-and-haddock-is-a-fish-and-cod-are-fish-too!"_

 _"To be fair,"_ Windshear started, _"She isn't wrong."_

 _"About what?"_ Heather asked.

_"All of it, 'Chief' is the human term for Alpha, and haddock and cod are both fish."_

_"Okay, fair point,"_ Cami conceded, _"But that isn't important right now cause we're gonna go find Hiccup and probably calm him and Toothless down because I can almost guarantee they're pissed off."_

 _"So you need a ride from your awesome amazing dragon friends?"_ Tracer teased.

 _"Yes Trez,"_ Camicazi snorted at the pouty face he made, _"No I'm still not letting that go it was hilarious."_

As soon as both Tracer and Windshear were saddled up, the quintet took to the air. Misty flew beside Tracer and they took the Southern side of the island whilst Windshear took the North. The Smokebreath did some recon on her own through the thicker parts of forest as her smaller stature meant she could fit places the Changewing couldn't.

It wasn't long before they heard an explosion, and obviously they flew straight towards it. Really, who wouldn't fly _straight towards an explosion?_

They arrived only a few minutes after Hiccup- a consequence of somehow having been on the complete opposite side of the island- and were dumbfounded by the fact that his face was puffy and blotchy from tears. Oh, and the fact that he seemed to be instructing two identical Vikings on how to approach a grass-green Zippleback.

"What in the name of Freja are you doing now?" Heather called as Windshear began her descent, a gentle spiral to the ground.

 _"Obviously we're teaching the two two-legs to ride us."_ Answered the left head.

 _"Yeah, what does it look like?"_ Continued the right head, both were silenced by a glare from Heather.

"Hiya guys!"

"Hi Aurora, who blew something up?" Cami asked.

 _"That was an accident!"_ Both Zippleback heads cried.

"Oh, th-that was B-arf and Bel-ch, thought tha-- " Aurora started.

"Wait, what?!" Heather spluttered, cutting Aurora off- she pouted in response- in her surprise, "Y-you're talking?!"

"Obv-obv-, ugh, duh." Aurora replied, not quite getting the words she wanted but getting her point across nonetheless.

"In NORSE?!" Cami uttered, in a similar state of disbelief.

"They d-don't get dr-dragon-ese." Aurora indicated the twins, who had somehow managed to mount the Zippleback without getting eaten.

 _"Wha-I-WHAT?!"_ Came Tracer's educated response.

The silence was soon shattered by a sneeze from the group's resident Smothering Smokebreath. One thing that is important to know about this type of dragon is that when they sneeze, they produce a cloud of smoke. Misty tended to sneeze in awkward situations, so the clearing was quickly enveloped by her smoke. The dragons took off, some- in the cases of Hiccup and Aurora- picking up their riders first. They flapped their wings strongly to clear the smoke, and then landed again. Upon landing, Ruffnut cackled and Tuffnut fainted, sliding off his head and falling for a second before Belch- the right head and his mount- caught him in their mouth.

 _"I wike dis one."_ Belch announced through a mouthful of Tuffnut's foot.

"Yeah! We taught 'em that!" He proclaimed when he regained consciousness and found himself dangling from the Zippleback's mouth. At his sister's eye roll, he continued, "We didn't teach them that, did we? Nah, I didn't think so."

"My turn!" She called, leaping off her head and being caught in a similar fashion to Tuffnut.

 _"My one is better!"_ Barf managed around Ruffnut's foot. Both heads placed their riders on the ground and began to bicker between each other.

"I'm not even gonna comment on that." Hiccup muttered, Aurora snickered.

 _"Are we really gonna ignore what just happened?!"_ Windshear shrieked.

 _"Yeah! Aurora just spoke in Norse!"_ Misty added, seemingly too confused to ramble as she usually did.

 _"It's like she said, the twins don't speak Dragonese and Aurora wanted to do pranks with them, so she decided to use Norse."_ Astra explained calmly, the spark in her eyes and the way she seemed to have drawn herself up giving away how happy she was about the development. A real smile- warm and true- spread across her face, and she nuzzled her rider affectionately. Aurora scratched her sister's scales softly, the corners of her lips turning up.

 _"Yes, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm proud of you, Sister."_ Toothless rumbled softly.

"Yeah, and I'm glad you met the twins, despite the fact that I'm sure it means that Ragnarök is starting." Hiccup added, smirking.

_"And I told you, I'm blackmailing the roosters!"_

"Wait, wha--" Heather tried to ask.

 _"These guys really need some saddles, race you to the forge?"_ Aurora interrupted, not waiting for a response before she and Astra took off, both in fits of laughter.

 _"I like her."_ Barf commented.

 _"Me too."_ Belch agreed, their previous argument of which twin was better forgotten- nobody was going to win anyway.

Heather, Camicazi and their dragons simply stood there, shocked and confused, before Cami snorted.

"I'm not even sure why I'm surprised." She muttered, mounting Tracer and beginning to chuckle as they flew after the duo. Heather shook her head and smiled, also beginning to giggle as she headed for the forge with Windshear.

"We still need to talk about that Aurora!" Hiccup called after her- she didn't hear him, nor was she going to talk about it- he turned to the twins and their new dragon, "C'mon guys, mount Barf and Belch and then we'll go get you guys some saddles."

The Night Fury took off, followed quickly by the Zippleback in a zig-zag motion- Barf and Belch weren't quite used to carrying riders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of their dragons? Be sure to let me know!


	29. Astrid Leaves With More Questions Than She Arrives With

Astrid had many questions for the group that had arrived mere hours ago and yet caused such a commotion. She still wanted to know what had gone on in the last five years, and how Hiccup seemed to have gained so many allies and changed so much.

She was patrolling the village when she heard hammering coming from the forge. _Odd, Gobber is usually in the Great Hall around now._ She shrugged it off, he was probably busying himself so he didn't wonder about Hiccup. She changed her course and headed for the forge. _Just as well, I've been meaning to get him to sharpen my axe._

Really, she should have guessed that it wasn't Gobber. The man never worked overtime- for anything, he insisted on taking his regular breaks, something about not overworking the only blacksmith the village had left after Hiccup had disappeared. Despite the obvious indicators, Astrid was astounded to be met with someone other than Gobber working in the forge.

She was even more surprised by the fact that the person in question was shirtless, and had their back to her. _Their muscular, toned back._ Astrid shook the thoughts away, feeling her face warm up a little at them. Her eyes raked over the bronzed skin as she attempted to compose herself- to ask _whom the Hel are you and why are you in the forge_ \- her vision caught on faded pale lines that criss-crossed it in unnaturally straight lines. _Whip marks_ , her mind whispered.

She sucked in a breath in realisation.

He spun to face her, hand on his sword's sheath, meeting her azure gaze with a fierce viridian glare. His eyes softened once he registered that there was no attacker. His face became bashful and almost embarrassed as he reached his hand up to his hair, swiping it through and leaving his vision unobstructed.

"Oh, um, hey, Astrid, what're you doing here?" He looked so much like his clumsy, sweet, fifteen-year-old self then that Astrid wanted to weep for what she'd lost. She wanted to weep for what the boy before her had lost, and what they lost together. But she didn't, she held back the tears because _he's here now and that's what matters._

"I was looking for Gobber?" She asked, despite knowing the answer, he was in the Great Hall, of course.

"Oh, um, he went to the Great Hall, I think? I can tell him you dropped by if you want?" _Dear Gods he looks so worried, he's so cute when he's worried._

Choosing not to voice this, she elected to say something that didn't make her sound like a lovesick wolf cub.

"No, that's fine, it isn't urgent, I just thought I'd see if he had a moment to sharpen my axe." She gestured with the weapon, displaying the dullness of the blades.

"Oh, um, I can sharpen it for you if you want? It'll only take a few minutes."

"Sure, I mean, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," his lips tilted up in a soft, crooked smile, _I've missed that smile, it's as charming as ever,_ "Let me see?"

"Here you go." She placed the handle into his outstretched hands.

He ran calloused fingers carefully over the blades, gauging how much sharpening they needed before he evaluated the rest of the weapon with practiced motions, his critical eyes noticing every imperfection and chip in the handle and grip as well as the metallic head. He pursed his lips, scrunching up his eyebrows as he scrutinised the handle, smirking when his eyes caught on a carving just below where the metal met wood. He produced a shiny nugget of silver metal from somewhere, then whistled.

The Night Fury's head appeared from deeper in the shop and- after some grumbling- he shot at the metal nugget, now on a granite worksurface, which turned red hot and became molten. Hiccup dipped both blades of the axe in the material and hammered it flat swiftly. Dousing it in the water bucket to his left, he took the weapon to the grindstone, using it to sharpen the blades again. When this process was complete he tugged the blade from the handle- having found it to be loose beforehand- and asked Toothless to shoot a small blast. The blast melted the inside of the blade enough that when he repositioned the handle and doused it again, the head was more firmly attached to its wooden handle.

"This should work for you, but you might want to consider getting a new axe soon, this one is pretty worn down." He suggested, handing her the now-fixed weapon.

"Actually, I've been meaning to get a new axe for a few years now," she admitted, studying her axe, "I just haven't been able to find one that was balanced right for me."

A chuckle sounded from within the forge. Astrid shot a glare at the boy and now dragon practically rolling on the floor laughing.

"Are you laughing at me?!" Astrid set her fists on her waist.

"Just-just, oh my Gods this is funny, your axe," Hiccup sucked in a breath, "Sorry, couldn't help it. I made that axe when I was fifteen."

"What?" Her jaw dropped, "You made my axe?"

"Yeah," he gave her a nervous smile, simultaneously causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach, "Check the handle."

She narrowed her eyes, scanning the handle before they caught on an inscription just below the axe head.

_For Fearless Astrid Hofferson, -HHH._

"How?" She glanced up at him, pinning him with a bewildered stare, "How did I never know?"

"Well, I think it was about a month before dragon training started, and I knew you wanted to be a warrior." He began, "I figured you could use the right tools I guess?"

"So you made me an axe?" She asked.

"Well, yeah," he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"That doesn't explain why I didn't know you made it."

"Well, I kinda asked Gobber not to make a big thing of it or tell you or anything."

"Why?"

"I figured you wouldn't want an axe made by 'Hiccup the Useless'," he commented, at which she lowered her head in shame, "I don't blame you really, I had a pretty bad reputation. It was pretty surreal to see you use it on the first day of training though, and being threatened by it- terrifying but cool."

"And the inscription?"

"Heh," he wrung his hands, "I couldn't help myself; I sign the stuff I make, always done it, still do. Kinda stupid but I like it."

"But fearless?"

"You always seemed pretty fearless to me, and I know you always wanted to be like your uncle."

"What, a coward?!" Astrid spat.

"Actually, the Flightmare releases a mist that freezes its victims, so, your uncle wasn't a coward." Hiccup corrected.

"What?" She uttered.

"Oh, sorry, did I say that in dragonese? I said--"

"Stop, I heard you, I just-I just can't believe it."

"Believe it, that mist is really cold too."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, it paralysed me for like twenty minutes when I tried to approach it, if it weren't for Toothless vouching for me, I wouldn't be here right now--"

"And yet you want us to believe they're harmless." Astrid scoffed.

"They are! When you don't scare or threaten them." Hiccup protested.

"I don't believe you."

"Really?"

"Yes, prove it!"

"Okay, fine, meet me in the cove at sundown." He challenged.

"Fine then." She confirmed.

"Great, I'll go find a dragon."

"What?"

"Do you have a preference?" He asked distractedly.

"What?" She repeated.

"You know, type, size, colour even?"

"N-no I--"

"Great," He mounted Toothless, "See you in the cove at sundown!" He called as they flew off.

"What just happened?" Astrid muttered to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-dun-duuuu!


	30. Aurora Wants To Camp, She Torments Her Brother Instead

_"So, are we camping tonight?"_ Aurora asked, once Hiccup had finished his freak-out over what happened in the forge.

 _"Why are you asking that right now? I just told you Astrid is meeting me here at sunset and I need another dragon!"_ Hiccup exclaimed.

 _"Because the solution is obvious?"_ At his confused expression she continued, _"Wait, you seriously don't see it?"_

 _"C'mon Hiccup even I see it,"_ Trez commented.

 _"Well I don't so can someone please explain?!"_ Hiccup cried.

The cove was filled with laughter, draconic and human. Camicazi and Heather were sitting together by their dragons, watching Barf and Belch try to catch their tails- it was surprisingly entertaining- Windshear and Tracer were lying down with their riders leaning against them, Misty had been napping on Cami's lap. Alvin had not joined them, something about it being a kid's club and wanting to stay with the boats- no love lost between the Berkians and the Chief of the Outcasts, or trust in this case- Mala and Dagur were off somewhere with Sleuther, presumably doing coupley things that nobody really wanted to think about. Aurora was leaning against Astra and taking considerable pleasure in watching her brother agonise on what to do about spending some time with his childhood- and current- crush, Astra had been trying very hard not to laugh but couldn't stop the guffaw from escaping, Toothless had given up following Hiccup's pacing and was also watching, it was funny.

Eventually Camicazi took pity on him, _"Just go to Dragon Island, dumbass! There are loads of dragons there, I'm sure some will be interested in having a rider!"_

 _"Awww, Cami that was funny! You ruined it!"_ Aurora pouted at the Bog-Burglar, before turning to Hiccup, _"Yeah, come on let's go! I'll come with!"_

 _"Are you sure that's a good idea I mean--"_ Hiccup was cut off by Heather.

 _"Hic, let her come with you, please. Or she'll find those twins and wreak havoc again."_ She begged.

They all joked that they were scared of the destruction that the twins, Barf 'n' Belch, Aurora and Astra might cause, but really they were indebted to the twins. They were, after all, the reason Aurora had begun to use a little Norse.

"C-come on b-bro!" Aurora added, staring at him with big sad eyes.

He couldn't say no now, damn wolf-cub eyes, so he groaned, facepalmed, and nodded in defeat.

 _"Yay!"_ Aurora jumped up and pumped a fist in the air, _"Thank the Gods! Lets-go-lets-go we only have three hours until sundown!"_ She smirked cheekily as she mounted Astra- who was equally excited- turning in the saddle to glance at her brother, _"You don't wanna be late for your date!"_ They shot up to the clouds.

 _"It's not a date!"_ He shrieked over his blush and the raucous laughter that had once again overtaken the cove. He mounted Toothless and they followed suit.

 _"Oh, it's definitely a date."_ Astra called back, loop-de-looping and causing heart palpitations in both her brothers.

 _"Is not!"_ Hiccup argued, face still flushed, from embarrassment and fear.

 _"You aren't gonna win this argument, Hiccup."_ Toothless remarked, _"Just accept it, everyone knows you have a crush on her anyway."_

 _"Shuddup."_ Hiccup muttered, at which Toothless laughed and sped to catch up with their sisters.  
  


They landed on Dragon Island about half an hour later.

The island looked, _alive_. A far cry from when the Dragon Queen reigned over it. The quartet greeted several dragons as they passed through the now-lush landscape, looking for a dragon that would be more amenable to having a rider. Many wanted very little to do with humans at all, as a result of having been previously enslaved by people- they only tolerated Hiccup and Aurora because they understood and were more dragon than human in many ways, it probably helped that they rescued them too.

Aurora was well-liked by most dragons, she knew better than anyone what they had gone through, and always seemed to know how best to distract them when they thought about their time of imprisonment. Her bubbly personality was soothing, like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter's day- she also visited a fair amount, because she travelled so much. As a result she bantered with the dragons around them as they passed through the throngs of reptiles.

An Elder sapphire Zippleback nuzzled Aurora and Astra, a pair of buttercup Terrors settled on Hiccups shoulder and Toothless' back- greeting them with a trill, before zipping up and knocking their heads together in an attempt to catch him off guard.

 _"Head, Butt, it's nice to see you too!"_ Toothless chortled.

 _"Hi Toothless!"_ Head squeaked.

 _"How's Fyredart?"_ Butt continued.

 _"As mischievous as ever, he made sad eyes a week ago and made Aurora give him lots of fish."_ Toothless replied.

 _"It wasn't that much fish!"_ Aurora protested.

 _"It was for a Terrible Terror."_ Astra sing-songed.

 _"You're meant to be on my side!"_ Aurora complained, before pouting and muttering, _"Traitor."_

 _"How's my little cousin?"_ Asked the left head of the Zippleback.

 _"They have two riders already, just as crazy as them!"_ Astra replied.

 _"I hope they can handle them."_ The right head chuckled.

 _"I think they'll be just fine, their riders are pretty in sync- being twins and all,"_ Aurora announced, _"They already named them!"_

 _"What are they?"_ Both heads questioned in unison, playfully glaring at one another.

 _"Barf and Belch."_ Astra proclaimed.

 _"An excellent pair of names."_ Fire declared.

 _"Truly perfect."_ Saph agreed.

Hiccup swallowed his laughter, with some difficulty. This Zippleback was one of the eldest dragons on the island, and was therefore a sort of de-facto leader- and deserved respect. He genuinely wanted to be respectful too, much more so than when he conversed with many other leaders- so he only smiled, rather than snort in laughter. It was strange to see the way that this dragon seemed so proud of Barf and Belch for bonding with humans, when not so long ago such a thing would have been considered treasonous on both sides. It warmed his soul that they had made such a difference.

 _"I was actually hoping that you could maybe point me in the direction of some more dragons that might be interested in having a rider?"_ Hiccup asked politely.

 _"Well, I think I know the perfect dragons."_ Saph smirked.

 _"Yes, they just arrived this morning,"_ Fire added, _"I think you may even know them."_

 _"Mildly threatening but okay?"_ Aurora commented, _"Can we meet them?"_

The Zippleback heads glanced at each other and then at the sky, releasing a booming roar which echoed around and was swiftly answered with four very familiar roars. Several moments later four shadows of varying sizes were gliding towards the group. The smallest entered a steep dive ten metres before them, reaching eye-level and zipping towards Hiccup, making a beeline for his face. _THUMP._

 _"Aaand we have impact!"_ Fyredart cheered as he knocked Hiccup to the ground with the force of his landing.

 _"Fyredart! What in the name of Freja are you doing here?!"_ Aurora exclaimed excitedly.

 _" 'Nd dib you haff to land on by face?"_ Hiccup groused, stifling his laughter to reprimand the Terror- who was not even remotely phased. Fyredart leapt from Hiccup's face to Aurora's outstretched hands, clambering up to settle on her shoulders and nuzzling into her neck.

_"Of course I had to land on your face, silly. It's to keep you on your toes, and practice my accuracy!"_

_"Stupid question really, Hiccup."_ Toothless snorted, shaking his head.

 _"We're also here!"_ A scarlet Monstrous Nightmare called as he landed, followed swiftly by an azure Deadly Nadder and an elm Gronckle.

 _"You guys! I haven't seen you in ages!"_ Astra exclaimed.

 _"Yeah, what are you doing here?"_ Toothless asked.

 _"Well, a little birdie told us you had ended up at Berk, and then we heard our old friend the Zippleback had bonded with a couple kids from there."_ The Nadder explained, smirking.

 _"It was Sneaky, wasn't it?"_ Hiccup grunted.

 _"She got bored and decided to look for you, heard from a couple dragons where you'd ended up and watched for a couple days."_ Meatlug admitted, _"Then she told us, we were only a couple hours away."_

 _"She really needs to get a hobby."_ Hiccup complained.

 _"That is her--"_ Astra tried.

 _"Stalking is not a hobby!"_ Hiccup interrupted.

 _"It is if you don't get caught."_ Aurora commented.

 _"What?"_ Toothless asked.

 _"Nothing."_ Aurora replied.

 _"We are discussing that later."_ Hiccup noted.

They did not discuss it later.

 _"Anyway, now we're here and we all agree that we want to have riders."_ The Nadder interjected.

There were a few raised eyebrows at that, and Aurora and Toothless both turned to stare at the Nightmare in surprise.

 _"Yes, even me!"_ He sighed.

 _"Well, this is great, makes everything a whole lot easier."_ Aurora proclaimed.

 _"Wait, where is Sneaky now?"_ Toothless asked.

 _"She said she'd meet us on Berk at some point."_ Meatlug answered.

 _"Nothing more than that?"_ Hiccup questioned, tilting his head in confusion.

 _"Considering Fyredart, Head and Butt are already here, she probably went to get Iggy and Pain,"_ At their confused looks she added, _"Y'know, like a reunion?"_

A collective ooohhh of realisation from the group caused her to roll her eyes, and Aurora to smile even wider.

 _"Neat, now that that's all good we should get going,"_ Grinning, she mounted Astra and added, _"After all, we don't want Hiccup to be late for his date! Bye Saph 'n' Fire, bye Head and Butt!"_ With that they took off, leaving an Elder Zippleback, two Terrors, a Nadder, A Nightmare, a Gronkle, a Night Fury and a human with nothing but a cloud of dust, laughter and the signature screech of a Fury's wings.

Hiccup groaned, mounting Toothless and bidding farewell to the Zippleback and the Terrors before taking off and heading- considerably slower than his sisters and Fyredart- towards Berk.

 _"So,"_ the Nightmare started, failing to hide his gleeful smirk, _"You have a date."_

 _"For the last time, it's not a date!"_ Hiccup cried, which only made the dragons laugh, and he resigned himself to a long flight. At least his flushed face wouldn't look so red once they landed, he hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aurora likes to tease her brother.


	31. Hiccup's Date

They arrived back in the cove about half an hour before the sun would set, everyone else was still there and Mala, Dagur and Sleuther had finally returned. The riders and dragons all greeted one another enthusiastically, only two accidental fires were caused and both were quickly dealt with. Fyredart took up residence on Aurora's shoulder after flitting between everyone and playing chase with Misty.

 _"You never answered me about camping, Hic!"_ Aurora called across the cove.

 _"Okay, fine. We can camp tonight but you are not allowed to tease me about meeting with Astrid!"_ He replied.

 _"You mean your date?"_ Astra smirked, wing-bumping Toothless when he snorted and began to dissolve into laughter.

 _"You guys can't say anything either!"_ Hiccup protested, desperately and uselessly.

"You have a date, Brother?" Dagur asked, "You didn't tell me! Do you want some tips? Do we need to talk about the birds and the bees? Do--"

"Oh my Gods please stop!" Hiccup shrieked, clapping his hands to his ears, "It's not a date! She's gonna be here soon so please leave!"

"If it isn't a date why do we have to leave?" Mala questioned, innocently.

"Because you will say something or do something that will humiliate me!" Hiccup cried, "It's not a date but I used to embarrass myself enough around her so I will not need your help."

 _"He makes an excellent point,"_ Aurora reasoned, _"Fine, I'll be hanging out in the forest if you need me."_ With that she skipped off into the trees.

 _"I'll also be there so she'll be fine."_ Astra added, following her rider.

 _"Oh Gods, can someone please--"_ Hiccup started, before Cami cut him off.

_"Don't worry Hic, she'll be fine!"_

Strangely, Cami's words did not help. Maybe it was because of the off-hand way she said it, or the fact that he already heard an explosion and loud curses in dragonese, it really is anyone's guess.

 _"We'll make sure they don't blow anything- well, anything else- up, don't worry."_ Heather reassured, dragging a complaining Cami into the woods to follow the would-be arsonists, joined by their dragons.

"Well," Mala started, stifling a snort of laughter and grabbing a chuckling Dagur by the hand, "I hope your date goes well, Hiccup." The lovebirds mounted Sleuther and waved as they took off for their room on the flagship.

"It's not a date." Hiccup sighed, despite the other dragons' sniggers.

 _"Well, as fun as your evening sounds, watching Aurora and Astra blow something up will be much more entertaining so bye!"_ The Nightmare called, departing for the forest, followed by the Gronckle who shot an apologetic look behind her at the boy and two remaining dragons.  
  


Astrid arrived not ten minutes later, just after Hiccup had explained the plan to the Nadder.

"Hiccup." She called by way of greeting.

"Hey Astrid, how are you?" Came his reply, _stupid question you saw her a few hours ago and she was fine why would that change?!_

"About the same as I was a few hours ago, a little confused about what I'm actually doing here."

"Oh, yeah." He commented somewhat uncomfortably, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "I guess I didn't really give much of an explanation."

"No," He seemed to recoil at that, so she added, "But I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes," The tension left him as he raised his head and met her eyes, "Yes you are."

The silence stretched as he stared into her soul.

"So, does this have something to do with the Nadder over there? Or is that one of your friends' dragons?"

"Oh, yeah, no, I mean yes, I mean--" He paused when her eyes crinkled- as she fought back a bout of laughter- and took a breath, "Let me try that again, the Nadder is here because I thought she'd be perfect for you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"To ride?"

"WHAT?!" Astrid shrieked, "I can't ride a dragon!"

"You can if you don't yell about it, it upsets them." Hiccup reasoned.

"You are insane."

"Y'know, that has never been in question, I am well aware of that."

"Why do you think I should ride a dragon?"

"Because what better way to understand them than if you work with them?"

"I still think you're nuts," Astrid started, "But I'm curious, what did you mean by 'perfect' for me?"

"You guys are really similar," At Astrid's suspicious expression, he continued, "You're both fierce warriors, you don't take crap from anybody, you're smart and, um, you're _really pretty."_

A chuffing laugh emitted from the dragons and the treeline at Hiccup's pink cheeks. The boy's eyes widened and narrowed to glare at the source of the sounds.

"Aurora! Y-you said you were gonna hang out in the forest!" He sputtered.

His sister emerged from the bushes, chortling, followed by an equally-amused Star Fury and Terrible Terror.

 _"Technically that is the forest!"_ She announced.

 _"Yeah, we never specified how deep into the forest we would go."_ Astra added cheekily. Fyredart simply kept wheezing with laughter.

"I thought Cami and Heather were watching you guys." Hiccup muttered, pouting.

 _"They were, but now they're, busy..."_ Aurora supplied.

"Oh my Gods," Hiccup ran a hand down his face in exasperation, "I'm gonna kill them."

"Um, Hiccup?" Astrid interjected, "Wanna fill me in here?"

"Oh, right," Hiccup murmured, before clearing his throat and speaking up, "This is Fyredart," He pointed at the Terror, who loop-de-looped, _show-off,_ "This is Astra," He gestured to the Star Fury, "And this," He placed his arm around his sister's shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, she pouted and rolled her eyes at his theatrics, "Is Aurora, my little sister."

Aurora punched him in the chest, he backed away and rubbed the injury, somehow wincing and smirking at the same time, _that's gonna bruise._

 _"I'm only a couple years younger than you!"_ She protested, he laughed at her.

"I still don't understand the dragon words?" Astrid commented, before realising, "Wait, your sister?!"

"Yep," At Astrid's befuddled expression, he added, "Adopted, we met about three years ago."

"Okay then, how much younger than you is she anyway?"

 _"Only like four years."_ Aurora pouted. Astrid glanced at Hiccup for a translation.

"She said 'only four years', she's mad 'cause I'm older and taller than her." He supplied, his sister kicked his non-prosthetic, causing him to hop up-and-down on his left leg, "Ow, ow, that was rude!"

_"I'm bored so I'm gonna go find Barf 'n' Belch and have fun, byee!"_

"Oh my Gods do not blow anything up!"

 _"Ugh, you're such a buzz-kill,"_ Aurora complained, _"Fine we'll go find someone to hang out with."_ With that she mounted Astra and they took off.

"Fyredart, buddy, please, please make sure that if they go find the twins you go find the others if they start to wreak too much havoc." He begged.

Fyredart snorted, saluted with his wing, and headed after the duo. Hiccup hoped that there wouldn't be too much damage.

"What was that?"

"Which part?"

"The twins? Did you give the TWINS a DRAGON?"

"May-be?"

"What the Hel, Hiccup?! They will destroy Berk!"

"Despite appearances they are actually very responsible and so are Barf 'n' Belch!"

"Oh my Gods did you give them a Zippleback?! How stupid are you?!" She yelled.

"Clearly very because I thought you would actually be interested in knowing the truth about dragons!" He spat.

Toothless nudged his rider's hand, crooning softly and sympathetically. The Nadder curled her tail around his feet and nuzzled his face. His almost-half-smile was enough of a signal for Toothless to pounce and lick every inch of him.

 _"Eww, Toothless that's disgusting! Bad dragon!"_ Hiccup tried to reprimand through his laughter.

Astrid could only watch in astonishment, when the Night Fury had pounced she had been sure it would be the end of Hiccup, but now _they seemed to be playing?_ She could tell from the way Hiccup was half-pushing the dragon away that he was trying to tell him off- without much success. The Nadder leapt from foot to foot and squawked _in excitement?_ Had she truly been wrong all this time?

"Hiccup?"

"Yes, Astrid?"

"I-I'm sorry for yelling at you. You aren't stupid."

"It's fine, it sounds crazy."

"I-I do want to understand dragons, I want to know the truth, I don't want to spend my life hurting innocent creatures because of my ignorance."

"Then let me show you the truth." He reached toward her, leaving his hand halfway between them, letting her take the next step. She looked into his warm eyes, and put her hand in his. He squeezed her hand gently before leading her to Toothless.

"Lets start simple. First you..."

He led her through the steps of peacefully greeting a dragon, and showed her what to do to bond with them. He was methodical, and seemed to know the perfect pace to teach her, he was patient and thoughtful, explaining each step and why it was performed that way.

"Now, you try with the Nadder." He encouraged. When she didn't move he put out his hand again, and she placed hers into it. He guided her carefully and slowly, placing her hand on the Nadder's snout with one hand resting on top of hers and his other hand beside it. She looked away as she had been taught before her hand touched the smooth scales of the dragon, only looking when she heard a soft crooning sound. The first thing she noticed was that the dragon seemed completely at ease, the next thing she noticed was the warmth- and how it seemed to spread all the way through her- emanating from where Hiccup had positioned his hand over hers, the third thing was how Hiccup was staring at her. His smile was soft, true, and his eyes beheld her as though she were something incredible, she found herself staring at him, almost in a daze, she considered what it would be like to see that gentle grin every day.

The moment was interrupted by something that sounded suspiciously like an explosion, and they looked away from one another quickly, only meeting eyes again as they both shrugged in a _what-can-you-do_ before looking away again. Their eyes flickered back to one another when they thought the other wasn't looking. Astrid shook herself out of her lovesick daze, looking back at the Nadder, realising just how right it felt to be here with her.

"You just had the moment, didn't you?" Hiccup asked, smirking knowingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Astrid replied, rubbing the dragon's snout affectionately.

"Sure," He rolled his eyes, rubbing Toothless' snout, "Do you have a name for her?"

"I get to name her?" Astrid questioned excitedly, before schooling her features, "I mean, no I don't."

"Yes, you get to name her, it's a big part of bonding. You can ride her first though."

"Really?" She enthused, unable or unwilling to hide it anymore.

"Yep, we can start with some rope so you can hold on and I can make you a saddle tomorrow."

Astrid beamed, before sobering somewhat, "Thank you, for all of this."

He smirked, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ain't seen nothing yet.


	32. Camicazi & Heather Are Busy

Naturally, Aurora had to watch her brother's date for a little bit, she needed new blackmail material, what could she say? It wasn't really stalking, she wasn't really following him so much as she was watching from a bush, _they ARE different, Astra!_

She hadn't meant for him to catch them, but in honesty she thought that it was way funnier than anything she could have concocted. Besides, Cami and Heather were too, um, busy to keep her out of trouble.

She had decided to go for a fly with Astra and Fyredart, given that Astra's wings were finally fully healed, unfortunately Aurora didn't heal nearly as fast, so her arm was still in a sling. They ended up back on Dragon Island and, after greeting Saph and Fire, wandered amongst the other dragons there, obviously this is where things started to go wrong.

There was a new arrival not fifteen minutes after the Fury, Terror and rider landed. Said arrival was a large beige and tangerine tinged dragon. Their two sets of wings were wrapped around their abdomen somewhat loosely, and the creature was bruised and covered in jagged marks that sent a shiver down Aurora's spine, these marks were familiar, both she and Hiccup had older, paled ones of the same variety. She knew tortured souls when she saw them, after all, she was one herself.

She silently thanked Hiccup for always pestering her about having a first aid kit in her saddlebag, just in case, 'Rora, to the point where she actually always carried one- mainly to shut him up- with her wherever she went. She approached the downed dragon cautiously, despite knowing dragons would never try to hurt someone unless provoked, she also knew that fight-or-flight always kicks in when they are seriously injured. The dragon appeared to have crashed, if the destroyed trees and deep gouge in the earth that the winged reptile lay in was any indication. She wasn't particularly worried about the species this dragon was, she knew she had seen one around somewhere before- it didn't matter that she couldn't remember what its name was.

The large creature cracked an eye open when she was maybe five feet away, she stopped in her tracks when they did, raising her hands in an I-come-in-peace gesture, when the dragon made no sound she reached to unclip her sword in a practiced motion, doing the same with her bow, arrows and several daggers- leaving them where they dropped and stepping over. The dragon grunted softly and she took slow, small steps towards it, glancing at Astra and Fyredart as if to say stay put. They remained where they were, still on guard.

Aurora began to speak softly, "Hey there, I'm not gonna hurt you. I want to help."

The dragon's eyes widened, either at the apparently peaceable human or the fact that she appeared to speak dragonese.

Aurora recognised the confused look and continued, "Yes, I speak dragonese, my friend Astra taught me," She arrived at the dragon and knelt, before nodding her head towards Astra in explanation, "Can she come over too? I think she may have some stuff we can use to fix you up." She put her hand out and looked away, smiling when warm scales touched her palm, and turning gentle eyes back to the magnificent creature before her.

The dragon provided a small nod, too weak for anything else. Astra approached with the same level of care as her sister, bowing her head in greeting to the injured dragon. Little was said as both human and dragon worked swiftly to patch up the dragon as best they could with only four paws and one fully functioning arm between them.

"Can you open your wings so I can see your legs?" Aurora questioned.

She was regarded with a penetrating gaze that seemed to assess her- whether she could be trusted- and pass briefly over Astra, before the dragon bowed their head and unfurled their wings one-by-one, growling slightly in pain, Aurora winced- making a mental note to check the almost-certainly broken wings next. Within them lay a slender figure wrapped in furs and grasping a strange wooden staff, they had a painted blue mask covering their face and when Aurora removed it she gasped at what she saw.

It was a middle-aged woman. Her dark hair had streaks of silver and auburn running through it and was tied back from her face. Her face bore shallow scratches and small bruises, trivial injuries- at worst they would sting or ache, but given her unconsciousness, this was not a concern of Aurora's. The woman's face was vaguely familiar, but Aurora brushed the thought away, she had met many people from everywhere, she probably shared some similarities with friends. 

Aurora examined the woman, she appeared to have sustained only minor injuries- obviously her dragon had taken the brunt of the crash- she sent Fyredart with a message to find a larger dragon to help them carry the double-winged dragon and the woman back to Berk, knowing that she should get Gothi- an actual healer- to take a look as soon as possible in case she missed something. All she could see as a glaring problem was the dragon's broken wing and what seemed to be a broken arm.

Fyredart returned with Torch, an amber and apricot Typhoomerang with a silver underbelly and five prominent horns on his head. He was, in fact, an old friend who had met Hiccup, Aurora and their dragons when he was a hatchling, it was good to see him.

They took off quickly, the woman on Astra with Aurora and the injured dragon carried by Torch. They were careful not to go too fast as they realised that the injured dragon would only freak out if they couldn't be near their rider.

They flew to the cove carefully, not wishing to advertise the injured dragon and rider to the Berkians until they were more comfortable with them, and actually trusted them. Upon their arrival the Gronckle and Nightmare had been resting in the cove- Heather, Camicazi and their dragons having headed back to their ships for the night- once they had been filled in, Fyredart and the Gronkle took off for Gothi's hut. The Nightmare went fishing for the group. The Typhoomerang placed the double-winged dragon just in the cave in the corner of the cove, whilst Aurora laid some furs and her roll nearby for the woman. Astra kept the woman resting on her back until the bed was ready, at which point she trotted over and helped her sister ease the woman onto the roll.

Gothi arrived a few minutes later, fully kitted out with her medical gear and Heller perched on her shoulders. She greeted Torch with a gentle pat on the nose and turned her attention to the battered dragon first, as they would be worse off than the human, having taken the brunt of whatever happened. She gestured for Aurora to help her, and together they set one of the dragon's large wings, the other wings were bruised but didn't need to be braced to heal. Gothi moved on to the woman, starting with her legs and moving up, as suspected her left arm was broken, but this was quickly splinted and wrapped, it was when she looked at the woman's face that she stopped, raising the back of her hand to her face to hide her gasp. 

She knew that face like her own daughter's, in a way perhaps this was accurate, after all- Valka Haddock had been the closest thing she had to a daughter.

After allowing a moment to herself to recover from the reappearance of her 'dead' pseudo-daughter, she attended to the tired-out dragon who had carried the injured dragon all the way here. Once they had fallen into a peaceful slumber she returned to Valka's side, a small smile gracing her wizened features as she simply watched her sleep.

"Do you know her, Gothi?" Aurora found herself asking.

"I do," Gothi replied contentedly.

"Who is she?" Astra questioned, tilting her head in confusion, only for Aurora to join in. Both made their way to sit by Gothi, watching her with twin curious expressions.

"I think that is her story to tell," Gothi began, before smirking mischievously, "But I think you may understand soon enough." 

At that moment they heard the tell-tale whistle of a Night Fury and an accompanying whoop! Toothless, Hiccup, Astrid and the Nadder landed on the other side of the cove about a minute later.

Hiccup noticed the group in the corner of the cove, and offered Astrid a ride back to the village in the hopes she wouldn't see or ask about them. For once, it seemed that luck was actually on his side as she agreed, on the condition that she got to ride the newly-dubbed 'Stormfly', which he could hardly dispute- they had bonded immensely considering they'd barely known each other for two hours.

After ensuring Astrid arrived safely, he and Toothless escorted Stormfly back to the cove, by which point the Monstrous Nightmare had returned with enough fish for everybody, only then did he notice the extra two dragons, Gothi, and unnamed woman who he assumed was injured. The food was distributed amongst the conscious inhabitants of the cove, with some put to the side for when the unconscious residents woke. The ones who were awake ate as they engaged in quiet conversation with one another. Hiccup took a bite from his roasted haddock- oh har-de-har guys, real original- as he strolled over to his sisters, followed by his dragon who had quite literally inhaled his large portion of fish, and promptly choked on a rib bone that went down the wrong way- giving Astra a rather wonderful excuse to thump him hard on the back with her tail until it was dislodged.

"Hey 'Rora," He whispered, "What happened?"

"We aren't sure," She admitted, shrugging softly, "We found her like this, wrapped in that dragon's wings," She indicated the sleeping reptile next to Torch, "The running theory is that they were attacked by dragon hunters."

"That dragon seems familiar, but I can't place them," Hiccup shook his head, "Do you have any ideas on the type, Bud?"

"I believe that they are a Stormcutter." Toothless answered, "Excellent fliers, Stormcutters, though that's probably down to the two sets of wings." He mused.

"Somebody's jeal-ous!" Astra teased lowly.

"Hush, children." Gothi scolded playfully, "Torch, Fyredart and Heller just fell asleep and I won't have you wake them."

"Are they going to be okay, Gothi?" Hiccup found himself asking, he was anxious for the woman, but it was more than the simple hope that people and dragons wouldn't have to suffer, the two seemed familiar somehow- and it was frustrating that he couldn't figure out where he knew them from.

Gothi inclined her head in a nod, a small smile gracing her lips, "Yes, and I think you will all have much to discuss when they wake, but for now their perhaps their presence here should not be broadcasted to the Berkians."

"Why?" Hiccup questioned.

"Just trust me." Gothi replied knowingly.

"Okay but--" Hiccup tried, but Aurora cut him off.

"She's been criptic like that all night Hic, forget it," She muttered, before turning to Gothi, "Thanks for coming so late, can we give you a ride back to your hut?"

"You're welcome, dear, and thank you, that would be most wonderful."

Aurora mounted Astra, accepting Gothi's bag when it was handed to her and grabbing her hand so as to help the woman climb up behind her. Heller sat comfortably on Gothi's shoulders, unbothered by the movement of mounting the dragon and the slight jostle as they took off. They arrived at Gothi's not ten minutes later, making the journey at least thirty minutes shorter for the wise woman. Bidding her and the still-snoozing Terror almost nestled in her hair goodnight and taking off. 

They circled for a moment, watching to ensure that Gothi was inside her hut before they left and zipped back to the cove. Upon arrival they noted that Hiccup had set out Aurora's camping roll and his own and that he seemed to be giving Toothless some well-deserved TLC in the form of chin scratchies, Toothless was responding with purrs and trills, and the girls had to stifle their laughter.

They were all fairly tired from the day, so little conversation was exchanged in the brief moments before they collectively decided to call it a night. They left Fyredart on watch once they promised he could wake the Gronckle in a few hours to take the next shift, which she wasn't too bothered by, she enjoyed watching the sunrise anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who might this be...?


	33. Hiccup Returns To An Awkward Situation

After Hiccup had taught Astrid the basics of trust and training, he helped her attach a rope to the Nadder so she could ride securely. He then demonstrated the hand signal for crouch, so she could easily mount. Once she was settled comfortably on the creature's back, and holding tightly to the reins, he spoke.

"I should warn you that the take-off is intense at first," He started, before noticing her horrified face and adding, "But she will go carefully, as you're a beginner."

"Oh," Astrid stated nervously, "Okay then."

"Astrid," Hiccup called gently, walking up to where she shifted on her mount and resting his hand on hers in reassurance, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you," He looked deep into her eyes, "Toothless and I will be right there the whole time, and believe me when I tell you that flying is worth it."

Astrid closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before opening her mouth and responding, "Okay, okay I trust you."

"Okay, give her a little, gentle kick and she'll take off."

Astrid complied, giving the dragon a gentle kick and holding tight to the rope in her hands as they accelerated and the Nadder began to flap her wings vigorously, lifting off just before the edge of the clearing. Hiccup was right, it was intense.

"Open your eyes, Astrid!" He hollered over the tailwinds, she obliged- albeit reluctantly- forcing her eyes open. She almost forgot to breathe at the view.

It was incredible, so completely different from anything else. Somehow it felt right, somehow it felt so much more natural than she thought it would. The air rushed past her, sending shivers down her spine and the warmth of the dragon beneath her gave her a sense of peace, despite the roar of the wind in her ears. The fading glow of the sun was even better up here, with no trees or rocks in the way.

She was snapped from her thoughts by a voice, "It's amazing, isn't it?"

She turned to Hiccup, for of course he was the one who spoke, "There are no words to describe it." She answered.

A silence followed, aside from the wing-beats of the dragons.

"Why did you leave Berk, Hiccup?" Astrid questioned suddenly, startling herself and everybody else.

"Sometimes," Hiccup started loudly, clearing his throat before continuing in a smaller voice, "Sometimes, just after I left, I asked myself that too. Then I'd go flying with Toothless and remember, this feeling, I--" He paused, searching for the right words, "I could never find it here, on Berk. Anything close was always overshadowed by doubt, and even fear- sometimes- I had to get away from it." He noticed Astrid was still watching him curiously, "I've wondered many times what might have been had I stayed, kept hiding him, maybe eventually revealed the truth. It all happened so fast."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean one second I was the village runt, the screw-up, and then suddenly I was this amazing dragon killer or something, even though I never hurt the dragons," He threw his hands up in exasperation, running one hand through his auburn locks, still tangling in the wind as they glided, _I wonder if they're as soft as they look,_ "Then the next minute I was in the running for killing the Nightmare and then I'd 'won the honour' and I just couldn't do it anymore."

"Do what?"

"The lying, the tricks! Y'know what the worst part was?" Astrid shook her head in response, and he answered himself, turning away to stare straight ahead, "How easily they bought it. Nobody cared enough to question why I was suddenly trying so hard to be a 'Real Viking'. Well," he corrected himself, "Except you, Gobber thought it was Stoick's lectures finally getting through."

"I get why you left now." Astrid called softly, he turned back to her, "Flying, them, this feeling of- of freedom? Like you can just exist and be happy," She met his eyes, "It's perfect, I know I wouldn't want to give it up."

His eyes widened as he decoded the unspoken words, "You mean--"

"Yes," She interrupted, "Looks like I'm a Dragon Rider now."

He whooped and Toothess trilled as he loop-de-looped.

The Nadder chirped delightedly and Astrid patted her neck, "Yes, girl, I'd love to ride you again, if you'll let me?"

The dragon roared in reply.

"She said she'd like that very much." Hiccup translated, as if the meaning wasn't already clear.

They soared through the clouds, at one point encountering a small storm which Astrid's dragon evaded skilfully, despite the added weight of a human on her back, earning her a fitting name.

"I think I'll call you, Stormfly."

The woman had not woken during the night, the dragon was roused come morning and fed a hearty breakfast of cod. Astra and Aurora were sent to fetch Gothi, Hiccup stood guard and when Gothi arrived, was ushered away with instructions to come find her if she was needed in the village but otherwise to leave her alone. Aurora, Astra, Toothless and Fyredart joined him, as the other dragons were loath to leave the relative comfort and security the cove offered, especially Torch- who was planning to head back to Dragon Island that afternoon. The group soared over the forest, splitting in two when they reached the village, Hiccup and Toothless made for the forge and the others for the docks, presumably to cause mayhem.

In truth, Aurora and her partners-in-crime were only going to find Heather, Camicazi and their respective dragons to hang out, mayhem would come later when they met up with the twins.

Hiccup was helping out at the forge because he was constructing saddles, and he felt fairly guilty about leaving Gobber to handle it all on his own for five years. Not that the man couldn't handle it, he was a strong Viking who knew what he was doing, but he was also a person, and all Hiccup had left in terms of thanks for everything the man had taught him was one measly letter. So, yes, Hiccup felt like the worst human in all the Nine Realms, and this was his way of apologising.

Fishlegs and Snotlout dropped by a little while after he started working, and despite the awkward situation, managed to tell him that they were all glad he wasn't dead- Snotlout commented that he wasn't so much of a scrawny little fishbone anymore, which was equivalent to throwing his arms around him and weeping, and Fishlegs spouted dragon trivia. It was like old times, but this time Hiccup was content with things.

The only interruption- other than his old friend and cousin hanging around, but Hiccup had long since learned to multi-task- came when there was a small explosion from somewhere in the woods, and then Fyredart zipped up to them and assured him that _no you don't have to come check nothing is on fire,_ before adding, as an afterthought, _anymore_ and darting away again.

Come noontime Hiccup decided to finish for the day, and he and Toothless arrived back at the cove not ten minutes later- they had to clean up after their work. Aurora, Heather, Cami and their dragons were clustered nearby Gothi and the woman.

 _"How is she?"_ Hiccup asked, concern creasing his brow.

Gothi had opened her mouth to answer when the woman began to stir, muttering incomprehensible words between breaths, the Stormcutter nudged her with his nose softly, and her eyes fluttered open to the dragon in her face.

"Cloudjumper." She breathed, "Where are we?"

"Um, hi," Heather interjected, "You're in the cove, you were brought here when you and Cloudjumper- is it?- crashed on Dragon Island."

"I must thank you, who brought me here?" She asked.

"That would be Aurora, Ma'am," Hiccup answered, indicating his sister, who looked away shyly, "Might I ask what your name is?"

The woman turned to him, taking in his appearance slowly, still waking up if her sluggish movements were anything to go by. She froze when her gaze met his face, her eyes immediately sharp and attentive, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. She produced a strangled sob and her remaining hand grasped the one over her face as her eyes glistened.

"H-Hiccup," She- well- hiccupped _(yeah, I know, real original- I'm not proud of it, okay I am- but there's literally no other way to describe the sound she made, shut up Toothless),_ "Oh Gods."

"Should I ... um," Hiccup began, before trailing off, finding his thoughts hard to articulate, "Should I ... know you?" _Gods that was awful._

"No," Her voice caught in her throat and she lowered her head, her familiar accent growing thicker "No, you were only a babe." 

_"But a Mother, never forgets."_ Gothi added, eyes twinkling, at which Hiccup sputtered.

"What?!" He managed, eventually, "Y-you're my m-mother?!" 

His jaw was practically underground at this revelation, as was everybody else's- aside from Gothi, Valka and Cloudjumper of course. Despite what Aurora tries to convince people, she choked out a series of demented giggles and promptly collapsed into Astra- who was quick to assure everyone that they both were fine and the girl had simply fainted at the surprise of the absurdity and coincidence of it all- but if she asks, she shouted called it, mounted Astra and they took off and did a loop-de-loop in celebration and were totally cool about it, it makes her think she's cool.

(She is not cool).

After ensuring his sister had a pulse _-_ _she was fine, Hiccup is just paranoid, you are though-_ he turned to his very-not-dead Mother.

"So run that whole thing by me again? You know, the part where you're my mother?!"

"Well, I am." She answered.

"Okay, I'm dreaming." He decided, a blank look on his face, "I'm asleep somewhere and I have hallucinated this entire fiasco, I'm gonna wake up somewhere covered in Toothless' saliva and I am fine with that because all of this is insane."

"This is real, son."

"Nope, I am not awake this isn't real at all. There's no way my dead mother is alive that's impossible."

 _"So was peace with dragons, yet here we are."_ Gothi commented wisely.

"Maybe that is also a dream and I'll wake up as a scrawny fifteen-year-old about to enter dragon training, yes, that will make sense!" He rationalised.

"Hiccup," Cami started, breaking her stunned silence, "You're awake, this is real, stop freaking out."

"Nope this cannot be real."

"Hiccup, it is, I'm your mother and I'm alive."

He shook his head again, at which point Gothi decided she'd had enough and bonked him on the skull, ignoring his indignant _ouch!_

_"You listen here, Hiccup, this is your mother- Valka Haddock- she is not dead and this is not a dream. You know how I know? Because it hurt you when I hit you on the head so you are wide awake, now talk to your mother- reconnect- or so help me Gods I will break every bone in your body and no amount of dragons in the world will stop me."_

_"Yes Gothi, sorry Gothi."_ He yelped. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gothi is awesome.


	34. Hiccup Clears His Head, With Death-Defying Stunts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta!

By the time Aurora came to, Hiccup had left for a flight with Toothless to _'clear his head'_ , whatever that meant. She was pretty sure it meant he freaked pretty bad, but she was assured that he had informed them that he would be back by the end of the day. His _Mother_ \- as she apparently was- had been asking Cami, Heather and Gothi an endless stream of questions, which they had answered as best as they could. The woman was quieter now, only posing a question every-so-often, which was quickly answered, then she would enter into an uncomfortable silence that Aurora felt the urge to fill- but didn't.

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore, and expressed as much to Astra, _"Gods, this is so awkward. I can't decide if the random questions or the silence is worse."_

Hiccup's Mother seemed to notice the fact that she was communicating in growls and clicks, and her eyes softened when they alighted upon her. Her gaze was warm, and so different to how she had ever been looked at. Hiccup always seemed to have a similar look in his eyes when he looked at her- as did Dagur, Mala, Heather, Camicazi and Alvin. Their gazes always had a measure of care, of protectiveness. It was a foreign concept until about three years ago, when she was freed.

Her childhood was rough, no doubt about it. She thought she had some vague memories of two parents, and siblings who doted on her when she was very young, but sometimes she thought she had just imagined what her life would've been like if she had met Hiccup and the rest of their family earlier, and thought it was a memory. She recalled pieces of her existence in one of the lairs of dragon trappers, but none were all that pleasant. She didn't know whether she had been taken, or given, or sold- she didn't know which option was worse.

She shook herself from those thoughts when Astra nudged her, and realised the woman had addressed the next question to her.

 _"Huh?"_ She muttered to Astra.

 _"She wants to know why you speak like that and not Norse."_ Came the begrudging reply.

Aurora was a little put out for a moment, it wasn't really anybody's business, but people kept asking.

"Valka, was it?" Saved by the bell, _or rather, Camicazi,_ "Aurora doesn't really like to talk about it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, lass, I meant no offence." Valka hurriedly apologised.

Aurora smiled weakly, feeling a little guilty and almost wanting to tell her, but she didn't have enough words, she didn't know where she'd even start.

How do you tell someone that you were held captive by cruel Vikings who killed dragons? How do you explain that you couldn't remember much about your life aside from the last three years, that everything else comes and goes as cracked fragments? How can you communicate that speaking in Norse makes you uneasy, that it used to make you physically sick, that it was only recently it didn't? How can you possibly drop that burden on someone else? How can you make them understand all this when your ability to speak in Norse is shattered?

The woman had begun to speak again, it brought Aurora away from her whirling thoughts, tethering her to the moment and forcing her to listen.

"I've always thought Aurora was a pretty name," She started, looking warmly at the girl in question, "I think if I'd had a daughter I would've called her that, but I've never regretted having Hiccup, even though I'm sure you're all thinking that's why I left Berk."

"Why did you leave Berk?" Heather asked slowly.

Hiccup's Mother sighed deeply, "I didn't belong there anymore, the night I left, Cloudjumper had broken into our house, but he was so gentle with little Hiccup, I knew that dragons couldn't be the heartless killing machines we all thought they were. Not that Stoick noticed, he barged in and startled the poor thing when he threatened him, Cloudjumper scratched Hiccup- an accident- and I distracted him so he didn't attack Stoick. We connected in that moment, I suppose, he picked me up and took me far away to the Sanctuary, the domain of the King of the dragons, the Great Bewilderbeast. Just like that, I'd found my home." She looked around at the enraptured faces, practically glowing with awe, and offered a small smile.

"Wow." Heather and Cami breathed in unison.

"So," Valka stood slowly and carefully, grabbing her staff in the same, fluid motion, "Where is the 'cove' we're in? And what is Gothi doing here?"

"Heh, um, funny story," Cami tried, before she chickened out and Heather had to take over, albeit more awkwardly.

"We're, kinda, a little bit, on Berk."

It took a minute before Valka really registered what had been said, and she demonstrated the signs of full-blown panic before ending it in the classic- _if perhaps cliché_ \- 'head-in-hands-oh-gods-no' position- Aurora recognised it from her many panic sessions, she was very skilled at that pose- and muttering under her breath several choice words that really wouldn't be appropriate for the ears of children.

Luckily this isn't really a children's book.

"Shit, fuck, mother-of-fuck, oh no."

Aurora swept in to deal with the situation- she was the designated-drunk-driver of dealing with people freaking out or panicking as she had the most, experience, in that area (in other words she was a complete disaster and had breakdowns a lot) and was therefore the best option. She rested her hands over the woman's and carefully peeled them away. The woman's eyes weren't green like Hiccup's, he got those from Stoick, but the gentleness that was so very Hiccup came from his Mother- without a doubt- they were a cool, soothing sapphire, and as they met Aurora's deep, warm seaweed eyes- with discreet threads of pear running throughout- an understanding passed between them. Aurora held the woman's hands securely, dropping her gaze.

"W-will be o-kay," She managed, but it was all she needed to say, the woman had calmed down significantly, and now watched her with something akin to gratitude, with a start- Aurora realised it was fondness.

"Thank you, lass," Valka whispered, before turning to the others and taking a breath, "I think perhaps now is the time for somebody to explain why exactly I'm here?"

"Well, as we said, you crashed onto Dragon Island. Aurora found you, did as much as she could to fix you up, then brought you back here so Gothi could make sure you were fine and you could rest." Heather explained.

"It's lucky it happened now, or else Aurora wouldn't have found you." Cami observed.

"I wouldn't call being shot out of the sky and crash-landing on a hostile island lucky, but whatever I guess," Heather muttered, at which Valka gasped and scrunched up her face in horror, "I should not have said that."

"Where did you get shot out of the sky, lass? What Tribe committed this atrocity?" She asked worriedly.

"Should you tell her or should I?" Camicazi stage-whispered to Heather, who put her head in her hands in exasperation, "I mean, you already blabbed the 'hostile island' part."

"Tell me what?" Valka questioned.

"It was Berk." Heather confessed.

"But Berk isn't hostile," Valka defended, "Unless, Gods you were on your dragon, weren't you? They probably treated it as a raid. I'm so sorry, lass, Berkians are stubborn and don't understand dragons."

Aurora gave an awkward smile. Valka had no need to apologise, besides, she was over the whole kidnapping-and-unlawful-imprisonment thing.

"If they shot you down," Valka started, "They'll know you're here! We're all in danger!"

"Actually, we know they know we're here and we aren't in danger," Heather stated, but elaborated upon noticing Valka's confused expression, "It turns out people back off when it's revealed that someone is the long-lost-heir, or, they don't try to imprison or kill you anymore."

"What do you mean by 'long-lost-heir'?" The woman asked.

"Oh, did we not mention that Hiccup ran away from here five years ago because he befriended a dragon?" Camicazi blurted.

"No, you did not," Valka's expression morphed from fear and horror to amusement and surprise, "I guess it's safe to say he takes after me."

The group chuckled at that.

"So, evidently, you didn't want to see the Berkians," Heather began, "So what brought you to this part of the Archipelago?"

Valka glanced down, before reaching into a hidden pocket in her armour, and bringing out a bedraggled, blue, Deadly Nadder toy. The creature had been painstakingly sewn together by herself and Gothi, almost twenty years ago. It was surprisingly intact, given its age, and considerably less plush than it had been when she had first presented it to her son.

"I found this a few days ago, or rather, a sweet little Terror found it and brought it to me," She gazed longingly and regretfully at the toy, "It was wet, and must have been in the ocean for a long time, I was afraid of what it could mean."

 _"It was one of the possessions they put on the boat when they thought a dragon had killed him,"_ Gothi plucked it gently from Valka's hands, _"It must have been floating out there for all these years."_

Valka glanced at the others for a translation.

"They thought he had been killed, when he left," Camicazi supplied, "It was on his ship when they conducted the ceremony, it must have survived the flames and made it to you."

"Why did he leave?" Valka asked suddenly, "I mean, was it on purpose?"

"The day he met Toothless, his Father told him he would be starting Dragon Training in the morning." Heather began.

"Oh Gods, how awful!" Valka exclaimed.

"The funny thing is, despite his first day being a disaster, he got really good at subduing the dragons- but he never hurt them." Cami chuckled.

"How did he manage that?" Valka's eyes twinkled, she had a slight suspicion.

"Being the dork he is, he started hanging out with Toothless to learn about him and fix his tail. But, in true Hiccup fashion, he ended up learning a lot more than he thought he would, and used that to do his own kind of Dragon Training." Heather finished.

"All this time, and he took after me." Valka laughed.  
  


Hiccup and Toothless were flying. They had no destination in mind, they had no plan for what they were going to do, and they didn't need either. Hiccup just needed to get out of there, it's a lot- finding out your Mother isn't actually dead and is some crazy dragon lady. Toothless understood, he was very in tune with his brother's emotions.

They soared high above the clouds, somewhere near Dragon Island. Hiccup laid back on Toothless and grunted. Then he groaned, and his groan turned into a scream of frustration.

 _"You okay?"_ Toothless cooed.

 _"Not really,"_ Hiccup admitted, _"But I will be, eventually, I hope."_ He groaned and ran a hand down his face again, _"This is all so messed up."_

_"Yeah, a little bit."_

_"Gods, we have to go back, don't we?"_

_"Yeah, but we don't have to go right now, we could stay out a little longer."_ Toothless sang hopefully.

 _"You want to practice fancy flying?"_ Hiccup teased.

_"No ... yes."_

_"Okay then, let's do this!"_ Hiccup chuckled, sitting up and leaning forward.

With that they zipped down in a spinning dive before Toothless spread his wings and entered a glide, the force of which caused a wake of water to rise from the ocean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this took so long and isn't very long! I hit a serious block!  
> The next chapter will be better and hopefully out sooner.
> 
> Tell me what you think!


	35. What Does 'Busy' Mean?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long I had loads of deadlines for school.
> 
> Huge thank you to my beta!!!

Hiccup and Toothless landed on the outskirts of the village and walked to the forge. Hiccup began working furiously on the basket of repairs.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Came a bemused voice. Hiccup turned to see Astrid’s smug face. 

“Just, stuff.” He sighed, “Just a lot of stuff.”

“Are you okay?” Astrid questioned worriedly.

“Yeah,” He muttered, before shaking his head and speaking louder, “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry. Anyway, what brings you here?”

“I was around, I was just wondering what you were doing when I saw you.”

“Just trying to lend Gobber a hand.”

Astrid raised an eyebrow and hid her smile. Hiccup got it a moment later.

“Oh Gods, no pun intended.” He ran a hand down his face. Astrid laughed at his flushed face.

“Well, I have to go, I’m teaching a weapons class in a few minutes,” Astrid announced, “See you around, Dragon Boy!” Her eyes widened when she realised what she just said.

“Dragon Boy?” He chuckled, “What’s that?”

“I-um, it just slipped out!” She protested, cheeks flaming, “It suits you though.” She muttered.

“I kinda like it.” He admitted shyly.

“Well, in that case, later Dragon Boy!” She called, waving as she departed.

Valka couldn’t fly off anywhere yet, or so she was informed- _read, ordered-_ by Gothi through the girls who had introduced themselves as Camicazi and Heather. The one who had been announced as Aurora hadn’t said a word since the few she uttered in the midst of Valka’s panic. After much pleading on her part, and a baby seal-like stare from Aurora, Gothi agreed to allow her to wander around the cove- chaperoned, of course.

Gothi had to leave soon after this- having already neglected her duties for almost half the day- accepting a ride from Heather on Windshear with Cami following with Tracer. Misty had fallen asleep and left in the capable hands of Aurora- who promised not to find the twins with their Zippleback until Misty woke up or Heather and Cami returned, whichever came first. The riders escorting Gothi were going to keep an eye out for Hiccup and Toothless and see if they were ready to return yet, but if nothing else find out where they were.

Unfortunately, this caused a rather awkward situation, wherein Valka couldn’t understand anything that was said- and everybody else could- and the only other Norse-speaking individual could barely string two words together cohesively and without her anxiety over it acting up. Suffice it to say, that after almost fifteen minutes of silence, Valka was the first to speak- albeit quietly enough that Misty continued her slumber without interruption.

“How long have you known Hiccup?”

 _“Um, three years.”_ Aurora replied.

Valka stared blankly at her. She stared back awkwardly, before registering that she had spoken in dragonese and cursing- again in dragonese. She held up three fingers.

“Three?” Valka questioned, “Months, years?”

Aurora answered with a nod, curling up one of her fingers to show it was the second option.

“You know him well, then?”

Another nod in reply.

“Has he been okay?” Valka blurted, “I mean, does he seem happy?”

Aurora considered this for a moment, before nodding slowly.

Valka released a wet sob, “I’m glad he’s happy, I am, I just wish he hadn’t had to run away to be happy.”

Aurora grabbed the woman’s hand, pulling her in for a hug as she broke down entirely.

 _A Mother,_ she mused, _will always regret the things they cannot fix for their child._

Dagur, Mala and Sleuther arrived sometime later. Aurora introduced Valka and Cloudjumper, and they introduced themselves.

“I’m afraid I must ask, Valka,” Mala started, “How did you crash on Dragon Island?”

Valka was silent for a moment, before responding, “Hunters.”

“Here?” Dagur asked.

“They’re preparing for something, something big.” Valka informed, “I didn’t know they were here, but there were too many to simply be following me.”

Aurora’s mind instantly raced. She began pacing the length of the cove.

_We need the others._

_“Mala, you stay here with Valka, you can explain the situation when we’ve left. Dagur- you and Sleuther need to get your sister, Windshear, Cami and Tracer. Take Misty, she might be able to help you find them. Astra and I will find Hiccup.”_ Aurora commanded, they needed to plan.

“On it.” Dagur and Mala replied.

Mala began explaining to Valka and Cloudjumper as soon as the dragons took off.

Astra zipped up into the clouds, the characteristic screech piercing as she looped over and headed for town.

Toothless heard it first, his head jerking up at the sound. He growled to Hiccup.

_“Astra is coming, at high speed.”_

_“Shit.”_ Hiccup replied, dropping the sword he had just started working on and grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head in the same movement. He crossed the room in two strides, grabbing his belt with _Inferno_ from a hook on the wall and fastening it around his waist.

The screech could be heard in town now, and a crowd had begun to gather when, fifteen feet from the ground, Aurora leapt off and rolled, jumping up and calling out in dragonese.

_“Hiccup! Toothless! Get your asses out here! We have a problem!”_

Astra circled in the air above her rider, roaring to her when she spotted their brothers.

“ _Aurora! What’s wrong, are you hurt?!”_ Hiccup asked frantically.

“ _Nobody’s hurt but we have a situation to deal with and we have to get back to the cove, yesterday!”_ She responded, before running and leaping up, catching a handle on Astra’s saddle as she zipped past, upside-down. Astra twirled and Aurora used the momentum to swing herself into the saddle.

Hiccup mounted Toothless and they took off, chasing after their sisters.

“What the Hel?” Fishlegs Ingerman breathed.

To be fair to Valka, she only jumped five feet in the air when three dragons and their riders landed unexpectedly in the cove.

“Butterfly!” Mala called, running at Dagur, before pausing in front of him and narrowing her brows, “Why is your face so red? Heather and Camicazi too?”

“Quite simply, Mala-Pooh, I have some choice words for Aurora for her making me walk in on that.”

“Dagur, you knew very well what was going on.” Mala took a step back, concern crossing her features, “Why ever would you be upset about it?”

“Not in that way dearest,” He assured her, “As long as they’re happy, they make quite the pair. I did not, however, enjoy walking in on it.”

“Shut up Dagur, like I haven’t walked in on you and Mala.” Heather interjected, her flush rising.

“And you weren’t uncomfortable?” Dagur asked.

“Oh, no, it was the worst.” Heather corrected.

“Exactly my point.” Dagur asserted.

The dragons snickered.

“Good,” Mala announced, “I’m so glad you agree that they make quite the pair. Otherwise I’d have to castrate you- and I’d really hate to do that.” She practically growled, tugging Dagur closer by the straps of his armour and smirking seductively.

“Um, just cause I haven’t walked in on you guys, doesn’t mean it’s an experience I want.” Cami interrupted.

Mala turned a delightful shade of scarlet to match Dagur, who glared at his sister’s girlfriend. Cami stuck out her tongue childishly in response, and both Berserkers rolled their eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's what 'busy' means.  
> Hope you liked it!   
> Please leave kudos and comment! I love replying to them!  
> See you next time!


	36. Hiccup Is As Protective As Any Dragon, Alliance Is Another Word For Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have arrived with an update!  
> Huge shoutout to my beta who got back to me really quickly!  
> Also I'm dedicating this chapter to her as a belated birthday present, it was two weeks ago but I haven't updated since them so oof, because she's amazing and hasn't decided to murder me yet!
> 
> I made a discord server, if you wanna join here's the link:  
> https://discord.gg/pcF2uH4C2v
> 
> At the end there are more notes explaining some stuff but it has spoilers so read the chapter first!

Aurora, Astra, Hiccup and Toothless arrived soon after this.

“Is anyone gonna explain what the Hel is going on? I think Aurora and Astra just terrified all the villagers.”

“Well, Hiccup,” Mala started, “Apparently there has been increased hunter activity around these parts.”

“How are we only discovering this now?”

“ _To be fair, we always avoid this area when travelling.”_ Astra pointed out.

“Okay, yes we do try and avoid this area, we still should have known, how did we find out?”

“ _Your Mother told us that she and Cloudjumper were shot down by said hunters, too many to just be following her. They’re planning something big, Hiccup.”_ Aurora replied.

“Oh, fan-fucking-tastic!” Hiccup groaned, dropping his face into his hands.

 _“Language, Hiccup.”_ Toothless sighed, rolling his eyes. His response was a sharp glare.

Screwing his eyes shut, Hiccup took a deep breath, “So we need a plan,” He opened his eyes, “Any ideas?”

 _“We could –“_ Hiccup cut his sister off.

“Without rushing in headfirst, arson and general calamity.” She pouted.

_“I’d like to point out that rushing in headfirst is your thing, and that I don’t always suggest arson.”_

“Seriously, nobody has any ideas?” He ignored his sister’s comment.

“ _Well, Aurora’s idea is somewhere to start, I know two Vikings and a certain Zippleback who would be very helpful.”_ Astra pointed out.

“You’re insane!” Hiccup accused the Star Fury, “You can’t actually be suggesting we include them in this?!”

“Who’s ‘them’?” Valka questioned.

“The twins, Barf ‘n’ Belch.” Heather supplied, at Valka’s confused face she added, “Two Berkians and a Zippleback they bonded with.”

“Why shouldn’t they be included?” Mala asked, “This is their fight too.”

“This is not their fight!” Hiccup exploded, before taking a step back and inhaling, adding in a small voice, “This was never their fight, and it shouldn’t be your fight either.”

“Hiccup,” Dagur began, “If we ever want peace with dragons to last, then we all have to fight together.”

“I know you, Hiccup, you want to share the peace between dragons and people, you always have. If you hadn’t then our tribes would still be fighting dragons, both sides would still be fighting for survival, the Red Death’s reign would never have ended. You are too selfless for your own good, you don’t want Berk to be in danger, despite everything they did to you.” Cami stated.

“We wouldn’t have it any other way. If it weren’t for your stupid selflessness, I never would have met my brother,” Heather laughed, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper and adding, “Plus he would still be a total dick.”

Dagur glared playfully, eyes softening when they turned on Hiccup, “My sister is right, without you I wouldn’t have met her or my fiancée.”

“ _So you finally popped the question? About time!”_ Aurora hollered.

“I am totally grilling you for details about that later but unfortunately we don’t have time right now, we have to start planning.” Heather warned.

“Thank you, all of you.” Hiccup stared at all of them, a sad smile gracing his features, he pressed a fist to his heart in salute, “I swear by Heimdall that I will defend all who stand with me, with everything I have.”

“Freja be with us,” Aurora replied, taking her brother’s other hand between both of hers. She glanced at her dragon, reaching a hand out just as Hiccup had taught her all those years ago. Astra pressed her head into her rider’s hand.

“May Odin bless us.” Cami added.

“And Forseti prevail.” Heather continued.

“May Tyr deliver us.” Dagur stated.

“Frigga lead us.” Mala proclaimed.

“May all the Gods bless us with their wisdom and strength, and may Baldur guide us in the end.” Valka responded. The dragons all bowed their heads, accepting the solemn vow of their riders to work together.

They were going to win, Gods willing, they were going to win.

They eventually came to the agreement that they would need to include the Berkians, despite Hiccup’s unwillingness to involve them, and Valka’s fear of what they would do when they discovered her. Both were overruled, and both agreed that it was the only option. Hiccup pretended his stomach didn’t tie itself in uncomfortable knots while they talked about how to tell the Berkians, and how to plan with them. _You’ll lead them to slaughter,_ some traitorous part of his mind whispered, he shoved it down. Valka pretended she didn’t fear Stoick’s reaction, she knew she would have to tell him who she was at some point. _Not now,_ she told herself, _I can’t worry about that now._

The meeting concluded in the late afternoon, when Heather and Dagur went fishing for dinner with Windshear and Sleuther. It had been decided that Hiccup, backed up by a few representatives of the other tribes, would request and attend a meeting with the Berkian Council, where they would inform them of the situation and invite them to join the alliance against the dragon trappers. As a part of the agreement, Hiccup would agree to train some of their warriors in dragon taming- however only if he decided they would treat the dragons with respect and trust- along with giving them a share of any spoils of war, which Hiccup rarely wanted anyway.

Mala, Aurora and Astra built and lit the campfire, Valka went with Cloudjumper, Misty, Camicazi and Tracer to forage. They returned with an assortment of mushrooms and some water for a fish stew. Dagur, Heather and their dragons returned shortly after the mushrooms had been set to boil in the water.

“ _Ooh, cod!”_ Misty squealed delightedly.

 _“No eel, right?”_ Astra asked nervously.

 _“That was one time, as if we would ever do that again.”_ Aurora laughed.

“What happened with the eels?” Dagur whispered to his sister, beginning to fillet the fish, removing the bones and skin with one of Aurora’s small Gronckle iron throwing knives.

“Oh, they were curious about what would happen if Astra ate an eel, cause we didn’t know why dragons have such an aversion to them. Long story short, causes eel pox-like symptoms but times by like a hundred, including random shooting with the sneezes. Basically don’t feed a dragon an eel if you value your life and their instinctive aversion to them is well-founded.” She replied, accepting one too the knives to join him in preparing the fish.

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Eventually the fish was added to the stew, and once it was cooked they all sat on the ground surrounding the fire and ate together. Leaning against their respective dragons- with the exception of Mala and Dagur, and Cami and Heather, who leant against their partner just as much as their dragons- the group talked together into the night, falling asleep one-by-one under the stars.

Hiccup picked himself up after a few people had already dropped off, grabbing a few blankets from the packs lying around, and sending Misty on a quick flight with a note to inform the ships that Dagur, Mala and Sleuther were fine, they were just camping. He didn’t want a repeat of last time- a long story involving the lovebirds wanting some time to themselves, not telling anyone, and Throck sending out multiple search parties in a panic; going so far as to contact Hiccup and Toothless to help find them- long story short, it had been a disaster and Throck almost had a heart attack as a result.

He gave the blankets to the people who were awake, namely Dagur, Camicazi and Valka. Dagur and Cami tucked them around their sleeping partners, while Valka- having received two- draped one over Cloudjumper and then the other around herself. She watched the others curiously, noting how Dagur shifted minutely so that Mala was safely enclosed in his arms. She noted that Cami had removed Heather’s heavy shoulder armour, muttering and rolling her eyes fondly, ensuring that the girl was wrapped warmly in the blanket. She watched how the dragons encircled their riders tightly, protectively, as their nature demanded. Hiccup tip-toed around, lying large blankets over the other dragons, who nuzzled him affectionately in thanks.

She watched him remove some knives from Aurora’s sleeping form- securing them in a satchel sitting next to her- before he laid her down on a blanket beside her dragon, who immediately shifted to curl around her. He settled a blanket over her, tucking it slightly and brushing a hair from her face before she was covered by the Star Fury’s wing. He added a blanket on top of Astra, who cooed quietly in thanks.

He did everything with a measure of gentleness and care, one which Valka noticed was reminiscent of her own brother. She smiled softly, it seemed in the time she’d been gone she had gained a few children, and he had made himself a better family than whatever he had on Berk. The reminder that he left Berk because of that ‘family’ brought tears to her eyes, but she banished them quickly. Whatever happened then was in the past. _That doesn’t mean I’m not going to give Stoick what-for when he finds out it’s me,_ her mind promised.

Her eyelids drooped as he laid a blanket over his dragon, scratching the Night Fury’s chin in _just_ the right spot so he crooned and nuzzled the boy. They closed soon after, the image of her son wrapped in a midnight-black wing and staring contentedly at the stars burrowing into her head and filling her with a longing to know him as her ears filled with the nighttime sounds of quiet snores, trees rustling softly, and the occasional owl hoot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know very little about sacred vows, this was just an idea I had and I'm sorry for any inaccuracies, this is an interpretation of how I feel that Vikings might have sworn oaths or agreements, it just felt like it worked.  
> I used a list of Gods and Goddesses I found online. Any I haven't included is nothing against them, these were just some that I felt were relevant and it's entirely possible that the list I found is incomplete. I hope I haven't offended anyone and if I have- I assure you it was unintentional and I'm sorry. 
> 
> The Gods and Goddesses I mentioned took me ages to find because I was going for ones with specific domains, I've only listed the domains I chose them for here.  
> Heimdall- basically the God of guardianship (Hiccup is basically swearing to protect and guard the others)  
> Freja- Goddess of war and fire; among other things (Aurora is asking that she be on their side, fire relates to dragons)  
> Odin- God of wisdom, war, prophecy, victory and death (Cami is asking that the victory be in their favour)  
> Forseti- God of justice (literally 'and justice prevail')  
> Tyr- God of war, justice in battle and victory (Dagur is asking that Tyr be on their side)  
> Frigga- Goddess of love, marriage, fertility, family, civilization, and a prophetess (Mala is hoping for a future; with Dagur, her people and a family of her own, she's also hoping for Frigga to guide them on the right path to the future)  
> Baldur- God of peace and righteousness (Valka is asking that after this battle or war, they will all live peacefully)
> 
> So yeah, hope you liked it, sorry it took ages! Please comment what you think and leave kudos!  
> Thank you if you've already commented and left kudos!


	37. Hiccup Tells A Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to my beta for making sure this made sense!
> 
> Here’s your Christmas present from me!!

Hiccup rose with the sun, taking Toothless- who did not want to get up very much but wanted Hiccup roaming Berk on his own even less- with him to do some fishing. They returned before long, one of the perks of riding the fastest known dragon in the world- and Hiccup knew a lot of dragons.

Valka woke just after they had begun to rebuild the fire. Rising slowly, she moved over and began to help.

"Do you want some help with cleaning the fish?" She whispered, so as not to disturb the others who were still asleep. He jumped, startled.

"S-sure." He replied in a low voice, handing her one of the many knives Aurora tended to keep on her person. They sat beside one another in silence, de-boning and removing the scales of the fish, having sent Toothless and Cloudjumper for water and mushrooms.

"I'm sorry," She told him in a small voice when the silence became too much. He glanced at her, surprised, as if he had forgotten she was there. "I'm so sorry I left you."

"I-I—" He tried.

"No, I should have come back. I truly believed I was doing the right thing, I need you to understand that," She whispered desperately, tears brimming in her eyes, "I thought you'd be better off without me," her voice cracked as she choked back a sob, releasing her knife and letting it fall as she buried her face in her hands, "I-I thought—"

She was cut off when he dropped his blade, crushing her in a warm, comforting embrace, "You thought it was for the best, you thought nobody would accept a bond with dragons," his voice cracked too, "You thought it would be better if you were remembered as a victim, not a traitor." He was crying too, if the water dripping on her forehead was any indication. _My little Hiccup got so tall._

She eased out of the hug, enough to reach her hand up to cup his face. It fit just like it did when he was a baby, perfectly. She stared up at him, his face, so like her own, but his eyes burned emerald with a thousand emotions- just like his Father's had.

"I thought about you every day, I wanted to come back to you, watch you grow up." Her eyes watered again.

"But it was too dangerous," He whispered, "I understand, I'm not angry, if you think I am. I do get it."

"I'm still sorry, I will be sorry until the day I die, even after that."

He cracked a crooked smile, strained but there, "Let's not be so morbid this early in the morning."

She chuckled, "Perhaps you're right, we had better get back to cleaning this fish."

"You know, even though you couldn't be around, I still took after you." He told her in a hushed tone, at her surprised look he added, "Do you really think Stoick the Vast would try to tame a Night Fury?"

She scoffed in laughter, muffling it with her hand. Her eyes roamed around the clearing, around the family her son had built himself, settling on Aurora's sleeping form.

"You know," She started, turning her head to her son, "If you were a girl, we were going to call you Aurora."

He flushed, muttering something.

"What was that?" She teased.

"Yeah, I know, he told me when I was a kid," He seemed to consider his next words carefully, mulling them over and weighing them before he carried on, "That's why I suggested it to her."

"Whatever do you mean, Hiccup?" Valka asked confusedly. She waited patiently for his next words.

"Well," He began, "We met a few years ago, when Toothless and I were taking down a trapper outpost." He took a deep breath, "It was the biggest one we had attacked yet, and we were only able to because we met Astra. She had been captive there for almost all of her life, since she was a hatchling. She only came to us because she scented Toothless, and his scent was the closest to her Mother's, who the hunters had separated her from only a few years after she hatched. Her Mother was brave, always fought back, she taught Astra as much as she could- we think she knew her time was short."

"What do you mean?" Valka questioned softly.

"From what she's said, her Mother was often weak and sick near the end of their imprisonment together, but we don't press it."

"Of course not."

"When we stormed the place, we freed the dragons and dealt with most of the trappers. By this point we had the support of the Bog Burglars, so most of the trappers were imprisoned there. I don't know what they did with them after that, didn't ask, don't intend to. But it was in the final sweep, after most of the fighting when we were rounding up stragglers, when we found Aurora." He took a breath, eyes glazing as he recalled the moment, "She was tied up in some basement, unconscious. She was in bad shape, half-starved, beaten, broken. From the way she had been treated it was a safe guess that she wasn't a hunter, so we were going to take her back with us. But she woke up when I cut her bonds, and ran the best she could away from me, I tried to calm her down, promising I wasn't going to hurt her. She didn't believe me. But that's when a hunter showed up, he must have been hiding in a room nearby or something, all I know is that when she started to shake in fear I knew he had something to do with her injuries. I don't know how, I just did."

Warm tears rolled down Valka's cheeks, "So what did you do?"

He exhaled sharply, a mocking version of a laugh, "I think you've probably guessed."

"Maybe, but I won't know for sure until you tell me."

"I beat the crap out of him," He stated simply, watching Valka with an unreadable expression, "And when Cami and her group of warriors found me and Aurora. Well, they're smart, they put two and two together, they beat him some more and then s couple of them took him back to Bog to lock him up." He scoffed, "Him I did ask about, and I was invited to help them 'finish the job'. I said no, I trust the Bog Burglars- perhaps against my better judgement at times- as long as I knew that he wasn't going to be able to hurt anybody else again, I didn't care what they did to him. He deserved whatever punishment he got." Hiccup stated darkly, his eyes alighted on his sister, sleeping safe and sound a few yards away, "When she woke up we were on Bog, I think the fact that it was mostly warrior women around helped her feel more comfortable. She trusted me a little, after seeing me beat a trapper half-to-death. She couldn't remember anything about herself though. She got lost in the forest and Astra was the one who found her, they bonded instantly. She started to be more open with me- probably because Astra seemed to like me- and eventually she decided she wanted a name. We looked through a book of names, but she didn't like any of them. Eventually I remembered that one, and suggested it, and she loved it. So she became Aurora, and she named Astra that because she liked that it was near her own name."

"I'm proud of you," Valka told him in a low voice, "Not only did you make peace with dragons, you freed the ones held captive by bad people, and bad rulers. You protected the innocent, you protected your sister before you decided she was your sister." At his befuddled expression she chuckled, "I'm not a fool, Hiccup, I know she's your sister. Blood is not what defines a family, surely you can see that by now." She gestured at the others around the clearing.

"Thanks, Mom." He whispered, eyes glowing brightly as they did when he was a baby.

"It was nothing, Son." She smiled back at him, "Now, I think it's time we put this fish on, Toothless and Cloudjumper should be back soon."

They would talk more later, but for now, a Mother and her Son were making breakfast for their family, and there was nothing more important than that.

The others woke when the smell of breakfast reached them. Shrugging off blankets, they all went through their individual morning routines. For some, this involved reattaching armour, which had mysteriously removed itself in the night _(I know it was you, Cami! You have no proof, Heather!)_. For others this was folding the blankets up and going to freshen up by the lake, or venturing into the forest to take care of a very particular kind of business.

For Aurora, her morning routine involved re-stashing her knives in various places and berating her brother for stealing them.

_"I sleep great with knives on me!"_ She insisted.

_"I don't take all of them! I just don't think you should sleep with all of them on you! It's dangerous!"_ Hiccup reasoned. Aurora, being very mature, stuck her tongue out in response.

It was a playful argument, one which happened a lot. Both sides knew that Aurora was fine sleeping with multiple- few people know the true number- knives on her, but they also knew Hiccup's insistence that she shouldn't do that was one of the ways he showed he cared.

They all ate together, and cleaned up afterwards. Dagur, Mala and Sleuther left first, needing to check on their fleet. Cami, as the Bog Burglar Heir, also had to check on her tribe's part of the fleet, despite that she had no desire to do so, her girlfriend insisted, bribing her with the promise that she would come with. Heather was skilled at ensuring Cami actually got her 'Heir Duties' done, it came with the territory of being the partner of a stubborn Viking. They took Windshear and Trez with them, but not disturbing Misty- who had dozed off on Aurora's shoulder.

That left Hiccup, Aurora, Valka and their dragons in the cove. That is until Hiccup had to leave to organise a meeting with the Berkian Council.He was reluctant to leave, to the point where he considered throwing his leg in the lake to have an excuse to stay, but he left sometime before noon with Toothless- promising to return or send word soon.

Then there were two, two riders and their dragons. Each with their own story, so different and yet not so dissimilar as they thought. Astra could sense the tension, the words waiting to be shared, she watched.

The woman, Hiccup's Mother, seemed to be in better spirits than she had been the last few days. Astra could only assume she had spoken with Hiccup sometime whilst the others were sleeping. They had seemed less awkward around one another, of course it was not fully resolved, twenty years was a very long time after all. What felt like hours later- realistically it was only like ten minutes- Astra watched carefully as Valka shifted, turning towards Aurora with glistening eyes.

The woman tapped her on the shoulder, Aurora faced her and was wrapped in a warm embrace a split-second later. Her shock and the knowledge that her brother's Mother would never hurt her were the only things keeping her from shoving her away and leaping back. She found herself melting into it, this demonstration of affection, of _I am here for you_ and _I will protect you_ so similar and yet completely different to her brother's hugs. There was another element there, something gentle and painfully sweet, one she realised she had always yearned for.

Perhaps that gentleness was why, when Valka began to weep and rock with the girl _\- just a girl, still-_ she rocked with her, and burrowed deeper into the woman's protective arms. Her eyes grew wide at the foreign sensation of hot tears leaking from her eyes and meandering down her cheeks, she didn't remember the last time she had cried. It had been a pointless practice as a prisoner, only serving to dehydrate her already weak self, so she had simply given up. But here and now, she couldn't- no, wouldn't- stop the tears. Not now, not when the maternal presence of Hiccup's Mother made her feel like a child again.

In that moment, she could pretend she was a child, pretend she had a Mother- and that it was okay to break down. So she did, and she wept. She wept for the childhood she'd lost, the things she'd faced; she wept for the family she'd never known; she wept for everything her new family had been through, and for what they had yet to overcome.

It seemed like the tears kept coming, she couldn't stop them now, through it all- Valka held her close. Once they had finally dried up, she reluctantly eased out of the embrace, but didn't move far from the woman. Aurora stared down at her hands, embarrassment painting her cheeks pink, fading only slightly when Astra appeared and nuzzled one of her hands. A soft, calloused hand encircled her other, and Aurora glanced up at Valka desperately. The girl's eyes were wide, and- like a skittish deer- she was tense, looking ready to bolt at any moment. Valka chose her words carefully.

"You've been holding that in for a while, haven't you dear?" She spoke softly, unwilling to upset the already nervous girl before her.

She received a weak and sad attempt at a smile, and a cracked, strained voice whispered, "I don't know."

"You know, Hiccup told me a little about how he first met you, and how you and your sweet friend here met," Valka started conversationally, "Good call on trusting the instincts of a dragon."

The smile was only a little less weak, but it was still an improvement, she looked a little more relaxed, too, if only slightly.

"Dear girl, you have been through so much, I'm sure I've barely even scratched the surface. I am here for you, just as your brothers and your sisters are, and if you want me to- I'll listen, or I'll hold your hand. Whatever you need."

Azure blue eyes fixed her with a reassuring and truthful gaze, "Th-thank y-you." She stuttered.

"It was nothing, lille en, come- we can freshen up with some water from the lake, and there must be some sweet berries around here somewhere."

Her voice, so soft and calm, caring and guiding- Aurora found the sense of longing abate, somewhat. _Well, I am Hiccup's sister_ , she thought, _maybe that means we can share her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, "lille en" is Danish for little one according to Google Translate- I figure that putting the translation at the end of the chapter will avoid confusion. I thought it would be a cute thing for Valka to call Aurora.
> 
> Merry Christmas everyone!!
> 
> What do you all think of the mother-son bond fixing and the kinda mother-daughter vibe?
> 
> A shoutout to @Oreo9327 who I had a great chess match with the other day!
> 
> In other news I'm beginning to write a Percy Jackson/Marvel crossover, so let me know if you'd be interested in reading that!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Be sure to comment and let me know!


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